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Youth voting in America
Youth voting and its low turnout, is one of the most controversial topics of American politics. Multiple debates can be seen on every news channel before and after every election. America was founded on golden principles of democracy that guarantees that all citizens get their due rights and participate in shaping the country. Youth is the always considered as the future of country and its culture, but if youth decides to not participate in civic matters that concerns the country, its population and policies. This lack of participation raises serious concerns about country’s standing in the future. Voting is right and responsibility that every citizen should fulfil. Selection of right candidates for right seats is essential for country’s wellbeing and development. Millennials contribute almost 50% of the total population. Thus, their voice and opinions are important in government selection and policy making.
Many areas of government policies effect the youth of America directly, in terms of education and justice system, as both of these departments are still developing in terms of their policies. Such policies hugely impact the decisions of the youth and their quality of life. But sadly it has been observed in past 30 years that youth voter turnout continuous to decrease, which is alarming. Low level of participation of young voters is observed in many states of America. Increased reluctance of youth in election, is matter of serious concern, considering the fact that today’s youth is more aware of their rights and responsibilities and also is more educated in comparison to older generations. Their continuous attachment to electronic media and social media has increased their awareness apparently but why they still avoid the voting; is the question that no one knows how to answer. Adult population often consider this act, as pure case of laziness and neglect. But how huge pollution can be this negligent about their rights and their country.
Every person has certain opinions regarding various situations, despite of their religious backgrounds, education levels and age. Judgment becomes the basis of opinions. Citizens depict their opinions through votes. American politics is considered as realm that is the base for all the decisions regarding political freedom, justice, peace, hopes and security. But when it comes to young voters they simple have complex relationship with the politics. They consider it as civic responsibility but at the same time they separate politics from their civic duties.
However, this trend is not new in American history, it dates back to 1972, when youth from 18 years of age were given right to vote. The 1976 elections were the first elections in which youth were granted right to vote but sadly only 13 percent of total 18 percent of youth population used their right to vote. In the next elections of 1978 again youth were underrepresented by 50%. Out of ten youngsters only three voted in the elections, which was 20% lower than the general turnout. In 1998, only 5% voted. But during competitive 2000 elections, America observed 36% voter turnout that increased to 47% in 2004 elections. So historical facts clearly show how in all elections, youth overall avoided to participate in the most revolutionizing procedure of the country. So this avoidance cannot be mere product of laziness, also it is not just random phenomena that happens in every election ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"tnqDeDsJ","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(\\uc0\\u8220{}Young U.S. Voter Turnout Surges, but Challenges Linger\\uc0\\u8221{})","plainCitation":"(“Young U.S. Voter Turnout Surges, but Challenges Linger”)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":22,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/OoqYwFOq/items/3QY8ZYIT"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/OoqYwFOq/items/3QY8ZYIT"],"itemData":{"id":22,"type":"article-newspaper","title":"Young U.S. voter turnout surges, but challenges linger","container-title":"Reuters","source":"www.reuters.com","abstract":"Early turnout by young voters has surged ahead of Tuesday's congressional m...","URL":"https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-youth-idUSKCN1N710K","language":"en","issued":{"date-parts":[["2018",11,2]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",1,4]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (“Young U.S. Voter Turnoutm Surges, but Challenges Linger”).
In order to solve this problem, one must dig into root causes that becomes reason of lower youth engagement in elections. One of the most important reasons is that youth are not encouraged to vote in elections, especially by the political parties. Political parties during their campaigns, don’t interact with youth, as they consider them unreliable voters, considering their historical lower voter turnout. In the past, young eligible voters have shown lower trends of voting so they don’t consider spending resources on young voters. On the other hand, youth complains of less engagement of political parties with their age group. This shows mutual lack of trust from both sides.
American political system is take all system for the winning party of elections. There is no place for third party candidates in American two party system. And it has been observed that young population increasingly support third party candidates, which end up losing in elections. But burden of less engagement cannot be completely put on the political system, as other factors also add to this issue ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"e0usELpa","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(\\uc0\\u8220{}4 Reasons Young People Don\\uc0\\u8217{}t Vote\\uc0\\u8230{} and What To Do About It\\uc0\\u8221{})","plainCitation":"(“4 Reasons Young People Don’t Vote… and What To Do About It”)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":21,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/OoqYwFOq/items/9HYNHR7E"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/OoqYwFOq/items/9HYNHR7E"],"itemData":{"id":21,"type":"post-weblog","title":"4 Reasons Young People Don’t Vote… and What To Do About It","container-title":"YSA (Youth Service America)","abstract":"Too many young people don’t vote. Why? Here are 4 reasons young people tell us they don’t vote: 1. They’re not asked or encouraged to vote by candidates, campaigns, family, friends, or neighbors. Young people who are contacted by an organization or a campaign are more likely to vote. Additionally, those who discuss an election […]","URL":"https://ysa.org/4-reasons-young-people-dont-vote-and-what-to-do-about-it/","language":"en-US","accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",1,4]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (“4 Reasons Young People Don’t Vote… and What To Do About It”).
According to survey, only 26% percent of youth between aged 15 and 24 believe that voting is important and only 28% of them consider it their civic duty. On the other hand, only one in ten, between ages 18 and 29, can name their senators that depicts clear lack of knowledge about political environment of country. Whereas between ages 35 to 45, one in three was able to tell the name. Also only 20% of the youth read newspaper daily in comparison to adults who read newspaper 50% more than the youth. This trend shows that adult population is more aware in comparison to young generation about politics. This lack of knowledge shows why youth engage less in voting system ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"sW3dI5a9","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Carpini)","plainCitation":"(Carpini)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":13,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/OoqYwFOq/items/CBXCXZFY"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/OoqYwFOq/items/CBXCXZFY"],"itemData":{"id":13,"type":"article-journal","title":"Gen.com: Youth, Civic Engagement, and the New Information Environment","container-title":"Political Communication","page":"341-349","volume":"17","issue":"4","source":"Taylor and Francis+NEJM","DOI":"10.1080/10584600050178942","ISSN":"1058-4609","shortTitle":"Gen.com","author":[{"family":"Carpini","given":"Michael X. Delli"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2000",10,1]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Carpini).
Above statistics clearly state reasons that contribute to this lower voter turnout. Overall young population has been engaged in community projects less than the older generation, this also has contributed in their lack of interest in nation building. They simply don’t consider it important. Thus for increasing youth engagement in voting process youth should be educated about the importance of votes and how it can impact their lives for better. They should be engaged in nation building activities, so that they can feel connection to the country and its political system.
But things are clearly changing for better in comparison to past years, in midterm elections of 2018, Millennials showed great interest in voting procedure and they turned out to be greatest eligible voting generation ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"27ppG1OL","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(\\uc0\\u8220{}Youth Voter Turnout in the Midterms Could Be Historic, According to a New Poll\\uc0\\u8221{})","plainCitation":"(“Youth Voter Turnout in the Midterms Could Be Historic, According to a New Poll”)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":16,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/OoqYwFOq/items/DRZTJZMJ"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/OoqYwFOq/items/DRZTJZMJ"],"itemData":{"id":16,"type":"webpage","title":"Youth Voter Turnout in the Midterms Could Be Historic, According to a New Poll","container-title":"Time","abstract":"Midterm turnout among young voters has been dismal in the past","URL":"http://time.com/5438522/2018-midterm-elections-youth-voters/","language":"en","accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",1,4]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (“Youth Voter Turnout in the Midterms Could Be Historic, According to a New Poll”). But they didn’t make the most impactful voting age group. Youth turnout exceeded the old record of 31% at average in various states of America like Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin and Nevada, which are high profile regions of the America. Many consider this an act of opposition by the liberal American youth, that is tired of misogyny, racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and violence. That’s why they have shown clear stance against the rhetoric actions of the politicians. This time vote was definitely casted in search of better change, that young generation finds missing the country ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"IKhTXKLz","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Sanders)","plainCitation":"(Sanders)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":19,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/OoqYwFOq/items/RTZCBRU8"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/OoqYwFOq/items/RTZCBRU8"],"itemData":{"id":19,"type":"webpage","title":"The Youth Vote Had a Big Impact on the 2018 Midterms, but It Could've Been MUCH Bigger","container-title":"Teen Vogue","abstract":"People ages 18 to 29 turned out in force, but a majority of eligible voters still didn't vote.","URL":"https://www.teenvogue.com/story/2018-midterms-youth-voter-turnout-still-room-for-growth","language":"en","author":[{"family":"Sanders","given":"Linley"}],"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",1,4]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Sanders).
But fact remains same that these numbers of voters need to increase for America to see bigger change. As 65 to 75 years’ age group, still makes the strongest, consistent group of active voters. And older citizens have more impact over the election results than the younger voter. Thus awareness needs to be spread among youth about their voting rights, as many of them don’t think that their vote has impact. Knowledge and encouragement are the only two ways to increase youth voting turnouts in coming elections. This generation of millennials is going to make adult population of the future; hence it is essential that they understand basic political structure of America.
Works Cited
ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY “4 Reasons Young People Don’t Vote… and What To Do About It.” YSA (Youth Service America), https://ysa.org/4-reasons-young-people-dont-vote-and-what-to-do-about-it/. Accessed 4 Jan. 2019.
Carpini, Michael X. Delli. “Gen.Com: Youth, Civic Engagement, and the New Information Environment.” Political Communication, vol. 17, no. 4, Oct. 2000, pp. 341–49. Taylor and Francis+NEJM, doi:10.1080/10584600050178942.
Sanders, Linley. “The Youth Vote Had a Big Impact on the 2018 Midterms, but It Could’ve Been MUCH Bigger.” Teen Vogue, https://www.teenvogue.com/story/2018-midterms-youth-voter-turnout-still-room-for-growth. Accessed 4 Jan. 2019.
“Young U.S. Voter Turnout Surges, but Challenges Linger.” Reuters, 2 Nov. 2018. www.reuters.com, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-youth-idUSKCN1N710K.
“Youth Voter Turnout in the Midterms Could Be Historic, According to a New Poll.” Time, http://time.com/5438522/2018-midterm-elections-youth-voters/. Accessed 4 Jan. 2019.
