Young Voters Absence

In chapter one, Wattenberg discusses the declining trends of Americans who regularly read newspapers between the 1960’s and present day. This can be attributed the aging patterns among generations who frequently read newspapers as well as with the use of technology rising. Reading the newspaper is a habit that either is or is not developed by the time one reaches voting age. With this, newspapers have become an older generation’s primary source of information, however, are still the best source for political matters. Younger generations tend to be more computer literate and have grown up with television and media more accessible to them than the previous generation. These trends not only reflect in American culture, but in other countries

“Young people are interested in politics, and do have faith in the democratic process. Nonetheless, the political system and the established parties and politicians that dominate it, are together failing to

Voting is possibly one of the greatest civic duties that individuals can do for their government; by going out and intellectually voting for a candidate that represents themselves and those like-minded. However, it has become tradition in the United States for the American youth to vote in far less numbers compared to the rest of the eligible voters. According to a study done by Harvard University, young adults have not only have lower voter participation compared to the older population, but their participation had been gradually falling overall from 1968 to 2004. Consequently, this long standing practice has led to issues with underrepresentation of America’s youth and in my opinion has aided in the gradual fall of voter participation overall now and will lead to an even increased fall in the future.

While this sounds good there was plenty of miss information and understanding to the youth vote. In fact the youth vote was still the smallest compared to other ages and relative to everyone that voted. The large push was seen by minorities voting for could have been seen as a different color president. This is not to say that they voted for him purely by his color, but that it worked in his favor. All ages and races where seen on the media supporting the idea for a African American president. Even though the youth did see a relative increase in voting from year to year it did not compare to the usually suspects who do vote. Another aspect to mention is the midterm elections so the same usually numbers of youth voting, which was further evidence that the 2008, election saw more coverage and hype than others.

A significant decline in political participation is apparent in the younger generations of this country. As a result of this lack of involvement, the future of young Americans is jeopardized if they fail to make their voices heard and utilize the influence they have on their government. If the youth do not express their ideas and goals that should be accomplished by society, consequentially, the leaders of this country will strive for goals whose are not those of the people. According to the memorable and historical leader, Thomas Jefferson," Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone.The government was intended to serve the people. This cannot be accomplished if the people choose not to vote. However, there

“In 2013, Takoma Park — a small, progressive enclave in a suburb of Washington, DC — became the first city in the US to lower its local election voting age to 16. In Takoma Park, the turnout rate for 16- and 17-year-olds not only exceeded that of every other demographic in the city’s 2013 and 2015 elections, but nearly quadrupled the overall average.” (Crockett) Because of the age requirement decrease in this area, votes increased significantly. Contrary to popular assumption, younger teens value being represented. Moreover, other countries have implemented this process with great success; “Internationally, at least 20 countries allow citizens under the age of 18 to vote. In Brazil, Ecuador, Argentina, and Nicaragua, 16-year-olds regularly contribute to the electoral process. In Greece and Indonesia, 17-year-olds can vote in national elections, and in Israel they have the right to vote in municipal contests. Recently, 16-year-olds in the Scotland election had a 75 percent turnout rate — higher than voters three times their age.” (Crockett). Through this evidence, it is obvious to see that lowering the voting age would be a step in the right direction for this country's democracy.

“Voting is the expression of our commitment to ourselves, one another, this country and this world..” Sharon Salzberg, the New York Times best selling author understands how important it is to take advantage of our American right and vote in elections. When one casts a vote he or she is doing his or her job as an American citizen. There has been a growing trend of young people not showing up to the ballots in the few past election seasons. Young people are one of the demographics in the country that has the most potential to make a difference in the voting outcome. There are many reasons as to why young people do not show up to cast their ballots – not feeling part of a community, feeling as if older voters have a larger stake in the establishment, and flat out feeling as if he or she does not have enough information to cast an informed vote. When I was a young boy my father gave an important piece of advice – there is no room for the topics of money earnings, political beliefs, and political affiliations in everyday conversation. Theses topics tend to spark arguments and debates because of the different viewpoints on them. I have tried to avoid these conversations for the sake of not starting an argument. However, I do not believe just because some people may be afraid of disagreeing with another person that these topics, especially politics, should never be spoken of. In my own experience I have noticed that young people shy away from political conversation,

The articles portray the benefits to allowing sixteen-year-olds to vote. One of the advantages of the voting age decreasing is the increase in votes which would have a huge impact on the voting system: not only will it show how more citizens are getting involved but how younger people are paying attention and are familiarising

Many people live busy lifestyles therefore many do not have the time to vote. Many people now in days are rushing throughout life and are not taking things day by day. If people only were a bit more open and see how important their vote can contribute to a change in our society they would actually make time. Educating voters and future voters and making time for the voting process may increase the overall turnout. In my opinion education is where it all begins, if you’re not politically educated in who is who and what is what then you’ll never get up and vote. In order for one to do something I think you need to be knowledgeable of what you’re doing not just because your parents or family do it. Young voters need to know that voting is one

Youth in industrialized countries currently are more educated than any generation has ever been. While education levels have risen, the conventional wisdom is that this would cause levels of voter turnout and party attachment to climb, however, this has not been the case. (Nevitte 1996, 50-51) Despite the great deal of research on this topic, there is not consensus on the answer to this question. In these interviews I attempted to look at how different forms of participation were viewed by members of the LBGTQ+ community, in order to draw some inferences about why youth are less likely to vote.

    Today our government is controlled by the people, so therefore we the people need to make sure that that the people who are voting to alter the government are mature enough to make adult decisions. Today’s teenagers think they are entitled to everything that life has to offer them, and this includes the right to vote. Why do grown individuals think it is a good idea to let our children, our youth make decisions that could affect us all when they have not received their high school diploma?  Teenagers are simply not mature enough to make the decisions that come with the right to vote. Some people argue that not all teens are immature and should be

Like eligible registrants in the current system, those who are the most inclined to vote are those who are well informed on public policy and demonstrate an interest in contributing to their community. Supporters of this idea predict that the teens who are most likely to vote come from “politically active homes and are thus likely to amplify the power of an already well-represented group.” I believe that even students who don’t come from politically active homes are equally as capable of making well-informed decisions on public policy based on their own personal

From within one year of being in highschool, I have learnt that young adults rush for almost everything. From rushing through their homework to rushing to the DMV as soon as they turn 16.As soon as 20 year olds turn 21 they cram into their nearest bar, to legally party all night.However there is one exception. You rarely see young adults rushing to register to vote when they turn 18.

During these stressful political times, our youth is undergoing considerable pressure to participate in the government. Education systems and the government itself, want to increase the number of voters, but they fail to provide young people what they need to effectively do so. The young people in America are a growing portion of the population, but they do not know enough to be active members of society. And students, vote less than the young people, also known as millennials, who are out of college. One would imagine that, while being in a college or university, students would learn the importance and values of government participation, but that is not the case. As big of a role many students play in education and society, the education they receive is not effectively preparing them to be active members of society. Young people are, as said by Bill Coplin, our “citizens-in-training”.

"Hey, I live in Oregon, the president is already decided on before our voting polls close." Yes, we live in an apathetic society, but for reason. As a 21 year old registered voter, I generally vote, but I can understand why my classmates chose not to follow suit.