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TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS: AT THE POLLS
By Liz Durham
Political analysts, along with families interviewed in four different states, agree that teen engagement in politics is lacking, and something needs to be done.
Mary McClelland of Young Voter Strategies (www.youngvoterstrategies.org) has a theory on why teens are uninspired.
”We have witnessed a mutual cycle of neglect where young people don’t vote because no one is paying attention to them,” McClelland told the Georgetown Summer Journalism Workshop. “No one is paying attention to them because they don’t vote. “
A recent informal survey conducted by Georgetown journalism students shows that 80 percent of teens had not been contacted by the 2008 campaigns, which makes the young voter age group the most neglected demographic.
Austin Green from Florida agrees that, “they don’t really reach out.” Austin said that candidates and their campaigns must take deliberate action and get the youth involved so they can “finally get to express what they’ve been waiting for for 18 years of their lives, a voice in the government.”
A recent poll conducted by the Student Association for Voter Empowerment showed that voters in 2006 between the ages of 18 and 29 had a 22 percent turnout in the polls, a number considerably lower than the 52 percent turnout in 1972 when 18-year-olds were first given the right to vote. So what happened?
“I was 20 during the Vietnam War,” Maureen Mac Neal of Rumson, N.J., said. “It was an exciting time, when civil rights were changing and we felt, for right or wrong, that we had the power to create change. At an age where voting should be new and exciting experience, I believe that the 18-29 year olds are more self-absorbed than that age group used to be.” According to Mac Neal, teens are not going to the polls to demand change because they don’t feel a need for change.
Mary McClelland is also concerned about the Millennial Generation of voters and getting voting rates up. “If teens don’t start voting they are forfeiting their power in democracy,” McClelland said. “Their chances to change the country and the way it is run are at risk.”
The minds of teen voters are more single-minded then ever, said Matthew Segal, executive director of the Student Association for Voter Empowerment. He believes that if a candidate could stimulate young voters around a certain cause or issue ,then teens would in turn go to the polls and express their will for that candidate.
This was proven in 2006 when Joe Courtney, then a congressional candidate for 2nd district of Connecticut, narrowly beat out his opponent. He credited his win to campaigning at the University of Connecticut, claiming that without those teen votes he could never have won.
For the most part, politicians neglect to engage young voters in their campaigns, according to interviews conducted with various students. Segal and McClelland agreed that this means it’s up to the parents.
Young people with parents who talk to them about politics and voting are more likely to vote, they said. A 2007 informal survey by Georgetown journalism students shows that 76 percent of teens discuss politics at home, and 71.5 percent of those same teens said they plan to vote in the 2008 presidential election.
“Parents that challenge their children to express and defend their views on national issues and events likely create politically active children,” said Michael Durham of Dallas. Durham, former CEO of The Sabre Group and father of two, said he has tried to encourage his children to think about issues and not be satisfied with the status quo.
Teens tend to agree. Juliette Rickert, a rising junior at Texas A&M University, said, “I think [my voting habits] are influenced depending on how my parents vote and what their ideals are.”
This generation is more and more taking into consideration the beliefs and opinions their parents have. With this kind of power, parents have the opportunity to make voting a part of their kid’s lives at an early age.
“Voting is a habit,” said McClelland. “The earlier teens start to vote, the more likely it becomes that they will continue to vote throughout their lives.”
Parrish Williams, 17, from Dallas, says she intends to vote in November 2008 because her parents vote and are willing to openly discuss politics with her.
Mary Ann Dunlay, a mother of two children, one of whom will be voting in 2008, always brought her kids with her when she voted to instill the idea early on. “We also always make a big deal about election night when we have a special dinner and follow the returns,” said Dunlay. “I hope both my children always exercise [this right]. If not, I will be very disappointed and will probably tell them so.”
“If families fail their children in promoting civil participation, it is ultimately left up to our educational institutions to compensate,” said Segal. However, he has a less then enthusiastic outlook on the job public schools are doing.
His organization (www.savevoting.org) is dedicated to making sure students are encouraged to vote. In its mission statement, Save Voting says it believes that “by arming young people with the knowledge to navigate the political process via a commitment to dialogue, issues awareness, and interaction with local government, we hope to create a foundation for life-long participation in the democratic system.”
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