Why don't younger people vote?

As a teenager myself I've concluded based on the reactions of my classmates to current events why we do not vote. We have a class called "Global Issues" and the top things we are covering right now are Ebola and Cap and Trade. The biggest reason why nobody cares is the question "why does it matter." This directly correlates to voting.

Why should we care what the president is doing in the middle east? The only things that matter to us right now are college and making sure that essay outline is done for English tomorrow. We also have a very idealistic sense of the world (i can only vouch for my school and nobody else) where we see a world gone wrong by racism and hate and its all because of the adults not us. I can say very safely that most of us feel that all the problems that are affecting today's people do no affect us AS OF RIGHT NOW.

These might not correlate to my views so please don't attack me and any other insights or different ideas on why the young people do not vote are welcome.

 

Yet here you are on PF posting. I wouldn't say that it's so much apathy as it is frustration. We learned in history class about how the federal government saved the nation during the Great Depression and then WWII. Now we look at Congress and wonder what went wrong.

 

I come here mainly to debate non political issues. Or in my eyes not very political issues.

 

There are plenty of forums out there. But you choice this one. Something tells me you have a political itch inside of you.

Also as a rule of thumb, hit the reply with quote button. It'll make sure that people respond to you.

 

I find that the best people to debate with are political people as they usually have some degree of intellect and knowledge of a subject. Believe me, I don't generally read the political sections, instead I come up with my own views and post them.

 

I still stand by what I said. That being said, good for you. The world needs more people thinking and saying what they think. Welcome and have fun on PF.

 

I would agree with your original topic and also with Krane here. The fact that you have shown interest in the area of politics already puts you above most of your classmates.

You are far ahead of where I was at that age.

 

When I read just your title, I thought pretty much what you posted.
When I was younger, I didn't care. Wasn't real interested in politics. Not that I'm that crazy about it now. As what you see in the public foray is pure BS. All for show, behind the scenes, they do as they want and are in tune with each other of opposite parties.
So most don't vote cuz they don't care that much. And not much reason for them to care. The best of times.

 

They either take things for granted, don't see the importance, link voting to winning at every election, or simply don't care.

 

Because young people only care about drink specials and getting laid.

 

Because they are too young to go to 'war'.

 

As a 22-yr old, I completely understand the sentiment. I understand it, even though my entire life's steeped into politics.(Been a part of Student Council since age 9, but I was politically dormant from middle school onward(for my own various reasons). I did register to vote though, and will be voting for the first time this November.(Hah, they can't say my opinion doesn't count now )

IMHO, one of the major reasons is a lack of Political Education, an area in which we grossly trail Europe. Our politics is like a rat trapped in a maze. You only really "learn" about Democrats/Republicans and there's a reason I put learn in quotation marks. Do you know the essence of the Democratic Party? What about the Republicans?

And even if you do know their essence, do you know the essence of yourself? Because of our fixated political situation, you will be inclined nay forced to go left or right. Even IF you don't necessarily agree with either or say a little bit of both.

This doesn't just affect young voters, it affects America. How could a country with an 85% Congressional disapproval rate elect either Democrats or Republicans? Given our gradual decline, shouldn't we have LONG voiced no confidence in the system?

Well, we do voice it. Infact, More Americans than ever before are open to change.

So, why hasn't it happened? Two reasons. 1)Lack of Capital(for the Third Party), 2) To paraphrase Eric Holder, politically we're a Nation of Cowards. Voting for Ralph Nader "gave Bush a second term.", the stigma from the Democratic Party is felt to this day.

But this stigma is misplaced, Nader had every right to run and Americans had every right to vote for him. In reality, the stigma should've stayed with a Democratic Party that could not convince a significant grouping of Americans to vote for Kerry.

Because of that stigma(famously known as the "throwaway vote"), even though we're "ready" for seismic change, we're not ready to see it in action. If Obama ran as an Independent, he wouldn't be POTUS. Nothing about him would've changed, what appeals to Democrats remains...

Except the Party Logo. That single logo is what propelled Bush, Obama to their presidencies. It's why I registered as a "Democrat" even though I'm a Centrist-Nationalist. The opportunities to reform the system will come from disaffected members of both parties, that's what I believe will knock the door down to change.

 

Nothing wrong with that

I do more casual chat than politics myself

 

We fall into two categories: those of us who choose not to vote, and those who don't care. The latter group is far more volumous.

I don't vote because I despise the whole process as farcical. From a cost/benefit perspective, it's a much better decision to cop the $20 fine.

 

From where I stand, this happens because we, the adults, don't put effort into teaching our children the responsibility. Responsibility for the country included.
I believe, the reason is that we do not feel this responsibility ourselves. We no longer have "government of the people, by the people, for the people." As the result, more and more people prefer just to skip the voting...

 

younger people don't vote because they cannot vote on the issues usually and have not settled on which side of the poot buffet they are going to eating from.

 

That's the fault of adults and parents. In our consumistic selfish society it seems that having the most fun is the way to prove one's worth, not caring about the world's problems. And not all teens are like that, btw...

 

Just saying, very few people my age can name anyone in government besides Obama, and very few really care.

 

it took a large effort to get out the youth vote for the 2008 and 2012 election.

It required Axelrod to e able to bundle his product as something cool and hip and when Hollywood and Viacom (MTV/VH1) climbed aboard, it was all over. It was the new thing to vote Obama much like getting the new I Phone or jumping from MySpace to Facebook, or Facebook to Instagram.

The challenge now for the Democrat party is how to repeat that event. It was not about policy and definitely had nothing to do with Obama being what was best for the nation as his incompetence proves that he wasn't.

it's all marketing. You can get some youth vote by promising free stuff but if as they mature, and worse, get a job in the Dreaded Private Sector, buy a home and pay property taxes, they may grow up and become fiscally conservative.

Becoming personally responsible and accountable are enemies of the Democrat party and thus why they need to try and hook em when they're young.

 

teenagers vote.....


they vote for homecoming queen
they upvote stuff on the internet
they vote for their favorite singer on American Idol and the Voice



Politics doesn't entertain teens.... and it's not just today's teens. I wasn't very political until I started my career


I bet if there was an issue about lowering the age of consent, teenageblogger and all his horny buddies would be early voting.


my wife is 34 and has never voted.... I couldn't believe it. We got our absentee ballots and as we sat down to discuss who we were going to vote for.... she was completely lost about the issues and amendments on our ballot.


We have medical marijuana, if the governor can just appoint judges if one retires, and a conservation act to acquire and restore wetlands.

As I explained my position, she was like "how do you know about all this stuff?" I just told her, discussions.....


Eventually, she just said "fill in my ballot like yours and I'll mail them off tomorrow"

 

I don't know your age but that statement cuts across all age groups

There are so many choices for entertainment that it's easy to avoid the news. If you look at the total ratings of all nightly news shows (not the opinion shows) it's less than 10% of the population.

Subscriptions to newspapers continue to decline and the statistics for "click through" to news stories at sites like Yahoo are not great.

So, messaging is important and must be quick and witty. It must also be done at locations where you want that demographic be it during a football game, a comedy show etc.

To air a political ad on MSNBC or CNN for a conservative candidate is a waste of money.

So, ask any person on the street who is John Kerry and most won't know. Ask if they know Ben Gazzee and even less will know

More will know what happened with Honey Boo Boo's mother.

- - - Updated - - -

Just what FL needs, all those elderly drivers high on pot.

 

The question we should be asking is why anyone in this country bothers to vote anymore.
The entire system has become a farce. The appearance of self determination or any sort of freedom in the US is just that, an appearance or more accurately illusion.

The citizens of the US would do themselves a favor by agreeing to boycott the voting booths in a protest of a corrupt system that would show the world that our current system does not represent the people and has no legitimacy.

Until the wealthy special interests are prevented from buying the political system and the outright ownership of government, the government and the elections are just an illusion to cover up a fascist state.

 

I was 19 and knew more about politics than anyone close to my age. I was a die hard republican by age 20. That changed during the Bush administration.

Young people just don't care. Drink, party, get laid.

It's not because of bad parenting it's because they're young and don't give a (*)(*)(*)(*). I think they don't give a (*)(*)(*)(*) because they haven't had a real job and watched 1/3 of their income be taken away before they even get it. Once they start working hard and seeing their income taken by the gov't then they start to care.

 

When young people see the absurd circuses which comprise electioneering, when they perceive no essential difference between candidates other than the colour of their posters and, crucially, when all they see are men in shiny suits and neat haircuts who appear to be totally disinterested in their vote or issues pertinent to their demographic, I think the answer is self-evident; who, and what, are they actually voting for, and why would they?

 

How did you feel when you learned the how the federal government extended the depression, not wanting to let a crisis go to waste, and made it great rather then ending it quickly as had always happened with depressions? How did you feel when you learned how the various federal governments manipulated events to bring about WWII?