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TEEN VOTERS PROJECT
Teens across the country show increasing interest in politics, D.C. teens already politically involved
By Anna Jacoby
Washington, D.C.’s teenagers are surrounded by politics almost every day, yet those who wish to vote for a senator or representative don’t have that benefit. The nation’s capital is a victim of taxation without representation.
Washingtonian teens have the advantage of growing up in a political town—interviews show that they are very politically informed and look forward to voting in the 2008 presidential election.
It was only in 1972 that the right to vote was given at the age of eighteen. Young voters responded to the new right and voted in large numbers that year. After that, the teen vote declined steadily for years. However, recent surveys show teenagers today are showing impressive political and voting involvement in preparation for the November 2008 election.
More teens, particularly from D.C., are politically knowledgeable. A survey taken by Georgetown University journalism students showed that a total a 72% of teens questioned from D.C. and from other parts of America said they were planning to vote in 2008. When asked if they followed politics, 76% said yes. All the D.C. teens interviewed said they would vote and that they paid attention to politics.
Several teens were asked whether or not their friends also followed politics; “I live in D.C.—of course they do,” said Margaret Yuckins, a Field School senior and D.C. native. In contrast, one student from Jericho, NY, said, “No, most of my friends don’t really care. I don’t follow politics at all.”
“I think most teens are interested in many other things and that politics probably is not very interesting to them or important to them,” said Dr. Leshawndra Price, from North Carolina, who works at the National Institutes of Health.
So how is election information reaching teens to get them interested?
Word-of-mouth is possibly the strongest system that influences young people to get politically active: “It’s the most effective way because it’s a trusted messenger and the idea of a trusted messenger is someone who you know who your talking to and trust them and you’re going to take what they say into account,” said Mary McClelland of Young Voter Strategies, an organization that promotes youth voting.
The Internet is the main form of communication for teens. Facebook.com, Myspace.com, and YouTube.com are popular networks that allow users to post their information and interests and for friends to pass on information. Several Facebook groups have formed to support a specific candidate. These groups introduce young people to political campaign information. YouTube has also helped spread political information t by holding exclusive debates of the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates.
“The Internet is a great way for candidates and voting promoters to connect to teens,” said Nina Russell, a senior at the Field School in D.C. “I check my Facebook every day, and so do most teens in America. Reaching us through our everyday tools is a good tactic.”
The popularity of the Internet is rivaling the popularity of television, but TV still plays its part in reaching young voters. MTV’s Rock the Vote is a campaign that promotes voting and directs itself towards teens. “Rock the Vote is effective because most teens watch networks like MTV and VH1,” said Russell.
There are several organizations developed by young voters for young voters. These young voters, usually college students, run these organizations to influence their peers. They work to get the word out about the importance of voting and to hopefully persuade other young people to register to vote. The organization Young Voter Strategies, developed by George Washington University students, has geared itself toward promoting the youth vote since just before the 2006 election. Next year will be Young Voter Strategies’ first presidential election.
McClelland said the potential size of the youth vote is “something that should be reckoned with. If we don’t get our voting rates up, we will be losing a lot of power and chances to change the way this country is run, from whatever way your political persuasion is.”
In addition to peer-to-peer contact, McClelland said her organization has found direct mail is a great way to get young people to vote.
“Information and voter registration cards delivered to your door have so far proved to be the best way to get young people interested and involved in voting,” she said.
These “strategies” have proved to be successful. “Based on our projects and research, the youth vote percentage has steadily increased,” said McClelland.
But is enough being done by presidential campaigns or schools to get teens to vote?
From the interviews, the response seemed to be unanimous. “No,” said Dr. Price, “Political campaigns don’t pay enough attention to teen voters. First, teens don’t vote in high numbers. Second, teens don’t contribute financially to political campaigns. Thus, most politicians don’t see the group as one that yields a lot of power or as deserving of a lot of attention.” On school encouragement, Price says, “Teens need to be educated about the importance of voting as early as possible and repeatedly throughout elementary, middle, and high school.”
“There should be programs in school to encourage voting,” said Russell, “Showing people how to register and giving unbiased information on the nominees would be great—or buses from schools and universities to the polls.”
Other findings from our Georgetown survey included:
- A majority of 37% said they would vote for Obama. Next came Giuliani, followed by Clinton.
- 52% of teens said that most teens they know consider politics important to them; 43% said no. The rest were unsure.
- The majority of teens questioned said that the issue they are most concerned about is the war in Iraq. Approximately half as many reported being most concerned about global warming and foreign policy. Other popular responses included the economy and domestic policy.
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