Voting trends in people between the ages of 18 and 29 have consistently remained a problem as U.S. elections see the lowest turnout and political motivation in this age group. According to the U.S. Census, the voting rate of those between the ages of 18 and 29 has remained under 50 percent since 1968. This statistic underlines the fact that this is no new problem.
Following the 2018 midterm elections, Associate Professor of Political Science Suzanne Chod spoke out about her thoughts on this and student involvement in politics.
“If we talk about different types of political participation we tend to only talk about voting and young people don’t vote at the same rate as older people do, but young people are more likely to engage in different kinds of political events like going to rallies, signing petitions, donating, participating in protests…making them socially invested,” said Chod.
Chod went on to say that although she would like more students to actively vote in all elections, “this type of participation can be much more meaningful,” and “is a good start,” when it comes to student involvement in politics. She then said that the reason she believes young people don’t often vote is because they “lack a connection with the candidates and exposure to politics in general.”
William Muck, associate professor of political science, also said, “there’s less of a connection with youth and the political system in terms of how it feeds back and impacts them. There’s a sense of indifference with youth when it comes to politics.”
Proving Muck’s point, interactive media studies major Monica Roberts, ’22, said, “If I don’t connect with any of the candidates running, I won’t vote.”
Muck said that there seems to be a lack of a connection between younger generations and politics. A lot of that has to do with communication.
“You have to reach out to them and I’m not sure the current political system does that,” said Muck.
He also brought up the point that often times “young people show a lot of enthusiasm toward a certain candidate but don’t show up to vote, which turns their enthusiasm into wasted enthusiasm.”
Plus, this enthusiasm in young people when it comes to political rallies and protests may not be as high as many believe it to be. Take the March for Our Lives events across the country. According to an article by Dana R. Fisher published in the Washington Post on the attendees of the events, only 10 percent of the people who marched were under the age of 18 and “the average age of the adults in the crowd was just under 49.”
Before seeing this research, March for Our Lives was believed to be attended by many young people and even named by some “one of the biggest youth protests since the Vietnam War,” but the numbers tell a different story.
The Washington Post’s research shows that the political involvement of people between the ages of 18 and 29 is low in all aspects, not just when it comes to voting.
