Why Should Young People Even Care?

            People always talk about how the youth today is the future of The United States. That we control what The United States will become in the near future. If this is true, then why don’t politicians and candidates for office today ever appeal to the needs of the younger generation?

            Yes, it is a known fact that young people have been characterized to not be the most reliable voters. Young people have been characterized to not be nearly as predictable as some of the older generations. While some groups are more likely to vote for one party over the other, young people are generally known to not necessarily commit to one party over another, and some choose not to vote all. However, the real question is not why aren’t young people picking a side, but rather why aren’t young people voting.

            There are many vague answers to the question of why young people are not voting. Some responses include: being conflicted on whom to vote for, or that the issues might not be relevant to the lives of young voters. One important reason that some young people might not be voting is due to the registration requirements and the whole process of registering to vote. While most states have implemented the National Voter Registration Act, or the “motor voter law” which has allowed people to register to vote. While most states have this option as well as same day registration, some states don’t have this option or are trying to eliminate same-day registration as an option.

            Montana has been attempting to get rid of same day registration. There are currently at least 100,000 students in Montana, and taking away the right to same day registration would have a significant impact on the elections in Montana. Every citizen of the United States has a right to vote during election season, and taking away the process of same-day registration is limiting the rights of the people within Montana.

            Another reason as mentioned before that young people are not showing up to cast their votes on Election Day is due to the issues being irrelevant to the needs of the younger generation. Issues such as healthcare, the economy and foreign policy are constantly addressed throughout the election process, and while they are very important topics that should be mentioned, there aren’t very many issues that are necessarily significant to the lives of young people. Issues such as financial aid (FAFSA) are much more relevant to young people today that problems of healthcare and the economy.

            The one solution I can uncover under all that is the issues with voter turnout is this: in order to change the focus of political campaigns to address more issues of young people, is for young people to actually go out and vote. If more of the generation go out and cast their ballots then politicians will be forced to address the needs of the younger generation. If we sit quietly and let others vote and have the government find solutions for everyone else’s problems but our own then nothing will change.

Hopkins, Dan. "Partisan Loyalty Begins at Age 18." FiveThirtyEight. N.p., 22 Apr. 2014. Web. 19 Sept. 2014.

Lachman, Samantha. "Montana Bill Would Hurt Young Voters, Progressives Charge." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 18 Sept. 2014. Web. 19 Sept. 2014.

Leonhardt, David. "The 2016 Election, Already Upon Us." The New York Times. The New York Times, 04 Feb. 2012. Web. 19 Sept. 2014.

Wayne, Stephen J. Is This Any Way to Run a Democratic Election? 3rd ed. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2007.