Young voters, step up now and be counted

By Jon Wolowicz, 9/27/2003

AMERICA'S YOUNG PEOPLE have limited their voice in politics. Busy living for today, they have neglected readying for the future. President Bush's "16 little words" about Iraq in his State of the Union address do not seem to interest young Americans, but the buzz around Ben and J-Lo has the youth culture in a whirl. When confronted about their lack of interest in politics, they too often turn to scapegoating, claiming that no one understands us.

Voters between the ages of 18 and 24 accounted for approximately 8 percent of the popular vote in the 2000 election, according to the US Census Bureau. Compare this to people over 65, who make up 20 percent of the vote. This is why elderly issues like Medicare take precedence over youth employment and burgeoning college tuition. There is more at stake for a politician to win the votes of the older generation than the newest. However, younger voters could make their voice stronger if they would only vote.

Only 32.2 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds voted in 2000 in the highly disputed Bush-Gore election compared with 67.6 percent of the elderly. That 67.6 percent represented 20 percent of the vote. Had everyone who was eligible cast a ballot in 2000, youth would have accounted for 13 percent of the vote and the elderly total would have dropped to 16 percent.

More youth initiatives might have been commenced by presidential nominees had this sector entered voting booths. Issues like summer jobs, and the future state of Social Security would have taken on a higher level of importance.

While youth are greatly to blame for limiting their own voice, they are not solely responsible for the problem. Politicians have added to the disconnect between youth and politics through the antics of exuberent partisanship. Politicians are no longer directing attention to particular voting groups; they focus on partisan agendas and defamation of the opposing party -- a turnoff to the young.

"Young people have disengaged from our official politics, in part because political parties have stopped reaching out to them," says William Galston, director of the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement, a research group that conducts a national telephone survey of Americans 15 to 24 years old.

The center's research has shown that young Americans connect with politics on a more personal level."Young people respond to old-fashioned, person-to-person, door-to-door politics, not to media campaigns," Galston says. Attack ads that distort the opposition's record have done nothing to entice young people into politics. All they have done is help reinforce a feeling of political inadequacy and connect the word politics with "corruption/lying/cheating/lack of trust," according to the center's poll.

Another factor hindering young Americans from voting is the lack of family involvement and engagement in politics. Galston says: "Young people who grow up in homes where the parents regularly discuss politics and voting are far more likely to be politically engaged." The center poll showed that 75 percent of children in such households register to vote, compared with 53 percent in non-engaging households.

However, these politically energetic homes are disappearing because of the chaotic lives of today's families. The endless grind of educational, occupational, and recreational commitments has created a parental apathy toward politics. Galston explains that fewer parents "participate [in politics] than was the case a generation ago, and the nonparticipants are transmitting this to their children."

With politically engaging households dwindling, (57 percent in 1998, 50 percent in 2000) indifference has hurt the youth voice as much as shrill political partisanship.

The youth vote does have many factors working against it, but self-doubt in the ability of youth to be heard is the most corrosive. Their voice does matter, and many programs like Rock the Vote, which targets the MTV generation during election years, have sought to convey this. Rock the Vote and other programs plead with young adults about the importance of the extremely simple act of voting. More than 75 percent in the center's poll agreed that registering and voting are easy. Yet, only 45 percent register, and a meager 32 percent show up on Election Day.

The responsibility falls squarely on our shoulders. If the young want to be heard, they must vote.

Young Americans need to realize that they are the voice of politics to come. Decisions made today will greatly affect the United States 30 years from now. So why not start today?

I am a member of the under-25 demographic and I am urging my peers to vote. It doesn't matter whether you are a Democrat, Republican, or Independent as long as you are heard. Many of my age group weren't old enough to decide whether or not President Bush deserved the office he holds. We do, however, have the chance -- and responsibility -- to decide in 2004 if he should have a second term.

Every phase of the political world will eventually depend on today's youth. It is up to us to make that voice loud, clear, and decisive. This must start today or else our voice will be nothing more than a whisper in the mute country that we created.

Jon Wolowicz is a student at Merrimack College.