Vox: Only 28% of young voters say they will definitely vote in midterms (compare to 74% of seniors)

[triron]

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/7/18/17585898/young-voter-turnout-polls-midterms-2018

[Equinox Moon]

1. I just don't understand. I was so proud to vote when I turned 18.

I remember it vividly and wouldn't have missed it.

[tonyt53]

26. I was in the first 18 y/o's that got to vote (1972). Never missed even one since then.

[Equinox Moon]

38. Yep, it is a special act we are priviledged to have.

I did not know 1972 was when 18 y/o old's were given the vote. What age was it before that date, I wonder?

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

56. It was 21.

The reasoning behind lowering the voting age was twofold: first that young men were draftable at age 18, and since the Vietnam War was going on back then, too many were fighting and dying before being old enough to vote. Second was the belief that those 18-21 would turn out in large numbers.

That second turned out not to be true.

Here's an interesting chart:


The most interesting thing is that up to age 70 more women than men vote. I'd love to know why female voting drops after age 75, although my best guess is that a lot of elderly women simply are unable to get to the polling place. So it would be even more interesting to know if elderly and young participation is very high in states like Oregon that do purely vote by mail. I know that overall they have very high vote participation, but the age breakdown would be interesting.

[Hortensis]

45. Me too, but THESE are Kool-Aid generations, saturated

all their lives in anti-government propaganda and in liles and false equalizations that portray government as inevitably corrupt and destructive. Democrats and liberals, at best, share all the faults of the worst of the Republicans and none of the virtues of the best.

Back in 1996 a friend and I took his boys to a matinee showing of Independence Day. The theater was full of middle class kids, most of them white, and when the alien invaders blew up the White House a large number of them cheered.

I was horrified, knowing this anti-government indoctrination had been happening across the nation. Those kids are now in their 20s and 30s, but it didn't start or end with poisoning their minds.

[Mariana]

69. Sounds like if the kids in that theater did vote today

they'd probably vote Republican.

[Hortensis]

78. Some Repub, some Dem, some indie, too many nonvoting.

The poison restyles reality for everyone to create disillusionment and disbelief in the purpose and ability of our liberal progressive democracy, and its foremost protector, the Democratic Party, to secure the common good.

We have somewhat stouter sorts here overall, but just ask our younger members to say what Democrats stand for, what liberalism and progressivism actually are, and very few will be able to state anything beyond a few issue positions.

The principles underlying the liberalism of American and of the Democratic Party are at best vague and undefined, at worst believed to be as nonexistent as the poison purveyors insist they are. Even some here on DU are as ignorant and distrustful of our party and our goals as the typical Republican. A flag they won't march behind because belief was destroyed before it could develop.

Almost all who do finally vote will vote Democrat because they lean left, but for too many commitment is weak because pride and conviction never developed. Remember the astonishing oscillations in October 2016 polls? People without conviction were easily manipulated by massive agitprop attacks. Four decades of poison having their biggest payoff to date.

[EllieBC]

109. Me too.

But I didn't need fanfare and selfies and Tumblr to tell me it was a worthwhile activity. It was my civic duty and my right.

[JI7]

2. this has ALWAYS been the case. unless you do something like bring the Draft AND there is an active

war where they see in person people they know having to join that war and coming back in body bags this wont change.

[Equinox Moon]

3. and then you have amazing young people like this:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1017505772

[Algernon Moncrieff]

54. Hogg and Gonzalez have the potential to be great leaders

I'm very proud of both of them, and saddened by the circumstance that drove them into politics.

[crazycatlady]

64. I want them to run for office when they're old enough

I'll never live in FL but I'd vote for them in a heartbeat.

[progressoid]

89. Yep.

[ProudLib72]

4. It doesn't concern them

My students are like that, too. They don't follow politics, and they just don't give a shit. There seems to be nothing you can do to convince them otherwise.

[BlueStater]

8. I'll never understand people who have that attitude.

What in the mother of fuck is wrong with them? I know this is an overused meme, but it perfectly sums them up.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

55. You start caring about politics more when you have things like a spouse, kids, and a home

Then you start caring about safety; taxes; the quality of the schools.

[Hekate]

5. To all the young hotshots who want our Party elders to go the eff away and let the youngsters ....

...take over the leadership -->

When you convince your cohort to VOTE, come back and talk about it.

[leftofcool]

12. And they wonder why we get pissed

[GoCubsGo]

20. Yes, exactly!

Thank you. They like to complain, but that's about it. I guess they want everything handed to them without having to work for it?

[Guilded Lilly]

32. Scoot over, I want to sit by you, today! ...

I get really pissed at that blanket “new blood replacing the old” ranting and not just because I have joined the ranks of social security.

It is the content, courage and strength of your character that makes you a leader, not your calendar years.

Prove your worth at any age.
If you can’t prove it, step aside.
If you don’t have the substance, shut up and listen to someone who does.
Earn it. Live it.

Ageism (at both ends of the lifeline) is as pathetic and obnoxious as racism and sexism.

And for the love of any humanity...exercise the right and privilege to vote or it will be taken away. And fight for those whose rights are being threatened.

It takes a fucking village.

[Thekaspervote]

102. Thank you!

[mythology]

35. The path goes both ways

When it was Obama on the ballot younger voters and black voters turned out in higher numbers. Putting younger or minorities in positions of leadership can encourage those groups to vote.

Give them personal reasons to vote and they will. Dismiss them and they don't.

[brush]

60. Nah. It's been documented for forever. The vote turnout for 20-somethings has always been low.

[JI7]

63. voting among young was still very low

Last edited Tue Aug 14, 2018, 05:24 AM - Edit history (1)

[still_one]

36. Excellent Hekate. Besides the obvious age discrimination, and ignoring the fact that VOTERS put

their elected representatives into office, and those voters are made up of many demographics.

That is why it is called representative government, and people who don't vote have no basis to complain

I have come to the point that if you have to prod or push people to get out and vote, then perhaps those folks aren't mature enough to vote.

I remember fighting for giving those who were 18 the right to vote, LUV, and based on this poll 25% can't even bother to vote. Pathetic

[Hekate]

44. We had a local recount which was decided by seven(7) votes. I told my kids...

..."NEVER tell me your vote doesn't count." The other thing I used to tell them was, "If you don't vote, you have no right to bitch."

I was 21 when I got to vote, and being that close to my own high school years I wondered about the wisdom of this notion, as adulthood had always been assigned as a gradual process based on presumed maturity. But we had a hellacious and unwinnable war going on, and young men were being drafted at 18 -- so there you have it.

[still_one]

58. The Viet Nam War was the watershed event that motivated the push to giving 18 year olds the right to

vote

[Hekate]

70. Yes it was. Some of the rest of it, like making 18 year olds fully liable for contracts...

...and legal alcohol consumption needed to be worked on more. The ancients may not have known about brain development (the judgment part of the brain isn't fully grown until the early 20s) but they were keen observers of behavior.

But here we are, with no draft to sharply focus the attention of our youngsters and a dearth of Civics education in high schools. We all have work to do.

[still_one]

74. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

[Mariana]

105. We also have the majority of older voters

casting their ballots for Republicans. The judgment part of their brains is supposedly fully developed, and look what they do with it. Lots of the older people had civics education in school, too, and yet most of them gleefully voted for Trump, and would do so again if given the chance.

I don't think it's right to lay the responsibility for the current shitty state of affairs entirely on the young people, who are only doing what young people have done forever.

[Hekate]

106. "Most"? Really? One more time: this country voted for Hillary Clinton (and Barack Obama)

[Mariana]

112. Go look at the breakdown by age groups.

The majority of voters over 45 went cast their ballots for Trump in 2016. That's just a fact. Most voters under 45 voted against him.

[workinclasszero]

43. Thank you!

The apathy of young folks makes me sick!

[Awsi Dooger]

6. No question the registration drives are long term investments

And not likely to pay off handsomely in 2018 and 2020.

However, it's the absolute imperative, given the net gain with Trump's approval rating where it is.

Here is a link I saved from last year:

https://www.refinery29.com/2017/07/165022/less-young-women-to-vote-2018-election

"A new study from the Voter Participation Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit focused on getting young Americans registered to vote, and Lake Research Partners released last week predicts that 40 million Americans who voted in 2016 won't turn out in 2018, two-thirds of which will be what the study calls the "Rising American Electorate (RAE)": millennials, people of color, and single women."

[Supernova9]

7. Interesting...

Interesting information.

[SunSeeker]

9. We need to make it easier for young people to vote.

They won't stand in line, but they would vote online.

[pnwmom]

10. There is another and more secure option. Mail-in voting with pre-stamped envelopes,

like we have in Washington. Fill in your ballot at the kitchen table and drop it in the mail. Done.

[SunSeeker]

13. Yes, agreed. But we have that already in many counties in CA.

Including San Francisco. Yet young people do not vote more there than anywhere else.




California’s recently adopted law potentially providing all registrants a default vote-by-mail ballot could help.

Another idea is lowering the voting age to 16:

Two Maryland municipalities, Takoma Park and Hyattsville, lowered the voting age to 16 in recent years for local elections. The idea was that if 16- and 17-year-olds could vote while still living with their parents or studying civics in high school, they would be more likely to go to the polls the first time out, and continue doing so throughout their lives. This past November, San Francisco narrowly rejected a measure to lower the voting age to 16 for local elections, but nearby Berkeley approved a similar measure.

 http://www.governing.com/topics/elections/gov-voter-turnout-generations-millennials.html

[pnwmom]

14. My daughter complained that the voters pamphlet with all the issues to be voted on

took so long to go through. She felt it was like taking a test, and she didn't know all the right answers. I explained to her that she didn't HAVE to vote on everything if she was too busy -- she could just vote on the races or issues she was interested in. That had never occurred to her.

If she felt like that -- and she has a college degree -- there are probably many others who are put off by 40 page election booklets and don't realize that you don't have to fill out the entire ballot to have your votes count.

[SunSeeker]

15. Voter education would certainly be helpful on that point.

Do you think that is why WA college campuses are a "voting desert" despite the ease of vote by mail?

https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2017/07/26/25308563/the-university-of-washington-and-seattle-u-are-voting-deserts

Maybe they just hate pamphlets and only like to use their phones/personal devices.

[pnwmom]

16. Maybe it's part of it. The article was talking about the primaries, when most students aren't on

campus. I wonder what the numbers are in the general.

I'm afraid there's probably less party loyalty in the younger generation though, which simplifies voting. If DT's ascendance hasn't woken them up though, maybe nothing will.

[PearliePoo2]

59. "She felt it was like taking a test". YES, that was me too when I was younger!

I thought that I had to fill in every square or I would FAIL as a citizen!

Even now, if I don't think I can make an informed vote, I'll leave the square blank. (But I'll always vote for the democrat)

My normal procedure now though is if I'm "Iffy" on an issue or a candidate, I'll see who or what group is supporting it/them and follow the money.

[pnwmom]

73. Here in WA I can also look at something called The Progressive Voters Guide,

which endorses candidates, lists other endorsers, and when it endorses more than one for the same race, explains why. So I can see who is endorsed by the Sierra club, who is endorsed by the unions, etc.

[PearliePoo2]

77. I'm in Washington too. I didn't know about The Progressive Voter Guide!

I'll check it out! That will be very helpful!

Thanks!

[pnwmom]

80. Oh, yeah, it's very helpful. It's online and you can plug in your address and see

the recs for even the most local races (like school boards.)

The Stranger has another guide that you might want to look at.

[RobinA]

21. Oh Puh-leese

While I understand that some people in certain situations find it difficult to vote for a variety of reasons, the vast majority of people who "can't get to the polls" mean they might have to do some minor planning or schedule changing in order to be at the polls during the 12+ hours they are open. I have no sympathy for these snowflakes.

That said, I do support a federal holiday on election day. I do think it would increase turnout somewhat and it makes voting more "important." On that note, I think making it too easy to vote may have the opposite effect. We value less what is easily available.

I think kids need to be taught Civics again, and in a fairly intense way. Current Events should be a subject in school starting at a fairly young age. The issues of an event need to be taught both historically and extended into the future.

You start, "OK kids, see that homeless guy on the corner? Let's talk about some things that have affected this man or other people like him and the situation they are in today." You could spend a week (or a month, depending on the ages of the kids) on housing policy alone from 1776 until the day after tomorrow. You could make it interesting and kids would learn something that isn't currently taught about the history of our country. They could also see how decisions made today have an effect on what happens in 50 years.

[SunSeeker]

48. OFFS. Making voting harder will NOT make people "value" it and vote in greater numbers.

On that note, I think making it too easy to vote may have the opposite effect. We value less what is easily available.

Making voting hard is how Republicans are staying in power!

[RobinA]

68. See, Except in a Few Cases

I don't buy that. If the turnout was 60% in 2016, 40% of the population was either prevented from voting or it was impossible or damn hard to vote? No.

Plus, nowhere did I advocate making it hard to vote. I would not be in favor of anything of that sort. I do, however, believe that it should be something you have to get up off your butt to do.

I don't know what an OFFS is, sorry.

[SunSeeker]

72. Oh for fuck's sake. nt

[pnwmom]

79. In my state the paper ballots get mailed to our houses and we can fill them out at the kitchen table

while reading our voter's guides, online info, or anything else we want. The envelopes have prepaid postage on them, but we can either drop them in the mail or one of the official drop boxes scattered around the county. And we have a couple weeks to manage this.

I guess they're making it too easy for us to sit on our butts and vote.

[pnwmom]

75. People who don't necessarily plan to vote straight party-line tickets can be put off by the effort

it takes to research all the candidates and, even worse, all the complicated and mysterious ballot issues. My voters guide is routinely 40+ pages long. To the novice voter, it could look like quite a job to get through the voting process. And I don't think anyone is telling them that they don't have to vote for every office or on every issue.

Over my decades of voting, I have seen voting get progressively more complicated than it was when I started out, when all I had to do was hit the Democratic lever and be done.

[EffieBlack]

23. Or we could just go to their homes with a home-cooked meal

Good Lord. Voting's not that hard. Get an absentee ballot. Vote early. And if they wait until Election Day, so what if they have to stand in line. Go vote anyway.

People stand Iine for hours for the latest iPhone, concert tickets and hot restaurants. But voting is too much trouble? And, of course, politicians are supposed to kiss their asses when they deliver them a new pony, but they can't bother to make an effort to vote?

These people need to get over themselves. Really.

[SunSeeker]

50. Telling young people to "get over themselves" will not make them vote.

Voting is harder than it has to be. We must address that. Young voters are a huge potential source of Democratic votes. If we want to save this country and this planet, we need to get serious about how to get them to vote. Just getting mad at them won't do it.

[EffieBlack]

97. If at this stage of lives and what's going in the country, they haven't figured out

that they need to vote, then nothing anyone says is going to get them to do it.

They're not children and they're not snowflakes. I'm tired of being expected to treat them as such while also being told I have to show them the utmost respect they don't bother or think they need to show anyone else. I and many many others are busting our asses to make the system, country and world better for them - I'm at a point in my life where who is in office won't affect me personally too terribly much, but I continue to fight for them anyway - only to be told I'm not doing it right and I also need to smooch their fannies with more feeling while I'm fighting. Fortunately, while I'm digging in the trenches, I'm working with AMAZING young people who don't think the world owes them anything, who know why they need to vote and are working their tails off to change things AND are doing their best to convince their contemporaries to do the same (and shake their heads and roll their eyes at the whiners who refuse to participate but love to complain anyway).

As I said, they need to get over themselves and start pulling with the rest of this. I don't care if it pisses them off. Life's hard. Deal with it.

[BannonsLiver]

37. Free iced coffee might be an option

[SunSeeker]

46. If you don't want to seriously discuss a solution, why mock those who do?

Yes, being sarcastic about this is fun.

Yes. It is easy to get angry at young people for not voting.

But that will not solve the problem. And it is our problem, whether we like it or not. We are living with the horrific consequences of young people not voting.

[RhodeIslandOne]

49. Why do you think he's not serious?

There are people in this world who are more angry about how their goddamn coffee is made every morning than the fact their elected leaders are fucking them for years to come.

[SunSeeker]

52. Because it is an obviously impractical and potentially illegal attempt to bribe people into voting.

It was an obviously sarcastic post.

Just getting angry at young people will not make them vote. Nor will mocking people who are sincerely trying to figure out a solution.

[BannonsLiver]

62. I wasn't being sarcastic.

Whatever it takes.

[NCTraveler]

83. Why do you think they aren't being serious?

I remember young people being lured to political events with free ice cream.

[SunSeeker]

84. Luring someone to political events with ice cream is not against the law.

Bribing someone to vote is.

[NCTraveler]

85. I go for the sticker. nt

[SunSeeker]

86. LOL

[NCTraveler]

87. All fun aside.

I make smart ass remarks about the youth but do think we should target them aggressively. Some of the reasons I think we should target them are not all that flattering. They are similar reasons as to why organizations like the KKK and cults go for them young. Get them when they are least involved and most impressionable. Get them for life.

[SunSeeker]

90. Agreed. Getting the youth on board is hard work, but well worth it.

Our planet itself is at stake. It is certainly time well spent...and much more productive than trying to convince a racist Trumpster to vote Democratic.

[JI7]

95. i think was a serious honest reply on what could increase turnout.

[Retrograde]

93. I've seen something similar

a long time ago, a local restaurant - now long gone - offered a free glass of wine to anyone who showed up with their voting receipt. I'd have gone for a free ice cream, but nobody was offering that. Or anything else.

[BannonsLiver]

96. Yeah, a local convenience store chain in my area did freebees in 2016.

Only you get a free coffee and donut. That's what made me think of it. My guess is there are other businesses around the country that do something similar.

[Hoyt]

51. In most states, including my solid red state, one can vote by mail, register on-line, they have a

few weeks of extended voting polls open even on weekends.

It could not be any easier. There is absolutely no excuse not to vote. There are a few states, however, where it is one day period. That needs to be corrected.

[BigmanPigman]

11. You need to start young...at school if the parents aren't doing it at home.

Every year I took my first graders on a walking "field trip" to the library to watch the real room with real people voting and the volunteers were always thrilled to give an impromptu mini lesson. Afterwards we would vote the same way in the classroom using privacy boards, anonymous ballots, tallying the votes themselves (Math AND Civics). They even got to decide what the choices and issues should be (give them ownership). We would vote on what game to play at rainy day recess, what type of class party to have, and we even voted for the various toppings for them. I always got "I VOTED" stickers in 4 different languages. The kids loved it. I hope some of it stuck with them as they grew up.

[Sherman A1]

17. Agreed

I believe that schools need to offer more basic life classes. Such things as voting, jury duty, balancing a checkbook, making a family budget, DIY home and auto repairs (like how to change a flat tire) and some basic cooking.

Yes, that should all be taught at home as well, but a semester or two at age appropriate levels would in my opinion do a great deal of good.

[RobinA]

24. They Used To

In Junior High (right there I've dated myself) we had this class, Personal Economics. It only stressed the financial issues, but covered a lot. Whole vs term life insurance. Investments. The checkbook stuff, bank accounts, budgeting, bill paying. Interest rates and credit cards. Buying a car. Taxes. Mortgages, different kinds of loans. I learned much in that class. Much now outdated, but it gave me the basics that I could build on and modify as times changed.

[BigmanPigman]

91. That was a great class!

I would like to see that as a requirement in the 11th grade. That way they can learn how much comes and goes financially and it might help them in deciding what career to choose. It is a good and needed dose of reality. Too many parents need this class themselves.

[NurseJackie]

18. Figures.

I wonder how many of these are the same "young voters" who refuse to register as Democrats?

Well, maybe they'll bother to come out and vote in the General Election. (Let's hope, anyway.)

[GoCubsGo]

19. Yet, the non-voters among them will scream the loudest about

how the previous generations are screwing them over.

[tonyt53]

27. "WE" didn't set up life for them to get everything free. That is what their problem with "us" is.

[NewJeffCT]

22. Stands in conflict with some other polls, and even 28%

is better than the 23% that voted of young voters that voted in 2014.

[bettyellen]

81. Good points Jeff- 5% is more than a 20% jump in participation! And women are much more engaged,

They’re the biggest group dumping Trump. And they’re running for office in record numbers. I’m going to be helping two local campaigns this year, and I’ll adopt a Congressional candidate.

[Snake Plissken]

25. There is a really easy formula to tell which demographics are projected to vote and which are not

The demographics the RNC focuses on are the ones who vote and the demographic the DNC focuses on are the ones who do not vote

[vi5]

28. Wait, are you saying the DNC focuses on young voters?

Not sure how you come to that conclusion but I'm curious to hear what that is based on. I don't see the DNC really going out of their way to focus on issues important to the younger Demographic (pot legalization, net neutrality, college debt, etc.). I mean they pay lip service to it, it's in the platform and all of that, but I don't see any areas where it's not a major focus of any voter drives or anything of the sort. And most of the candidates the DNC support are the older, established candidates not necessarily going out of their way to promote young upstarts or anything of the sort.

If that's not what you meant then I apologize for my misunderstanding in advance.

[Snake Plissken]

29. They're only concerned with 72% who will not be voting

[vi5]

31. In what way?

Again, I'm not sure what you are getting at. What is the DNC actively doing that indicates they are concerned with the 72% of non-voting young people rather than the 28% who are? The younger voters who I know who don't vote or think the systems sucks or whatever (ie, that 72%) are usually single issue voters on stuff like weed legalization, net neutrality, single payer healthcare or things like that, or types who feel that the system generally sucks and that the Democratic party is old and out of touch and concerned only with protecting their incumbents. I don't see the DNC really doing anything to focus on those voters at all. But again, maybe I'm missing something.

[Butterflylady]

30. I don't believe it.

Polls today are not like they were way back when people only had land lines. With todays technology polls are not accurate.

[MineralMan]

33. Historically, that's not at all surprising.

[inwiththenew]

34. It's been this way for quite awhile

It's easy to see how a young person who is single and in good health living in an apartment or with their parents might not appreciate how decision made by politicians can impact them. As you get older and get married, have kids, buy a house, deal with aging parents, deal with health issues yourself, start planning for retirement, and many of the other things that happen as you age you start to really appreciate how decisions made by politicians can directly impact your life.

[Javaman]

39. it's the mission to convince young voters of just how much skin they have in the game...

right now, most people under 20 just don't pay attention to things that matter because they don't realize the long term or even short term effects it has on their lives.

[redstatebluegirl]

40. I was so happy when I was old enough to vote.

My first vote was for a county election. I was fortunate, my parents made sure we were aware of how important it was to vote. Dad and Mom would get dressed in their Sunday best to go vote, they would go pick up my Grandparents and we all went together to "exercise our right to vote". Mom and Dad would discuss the issues and the candidates for days before. We were all part of this process up to being taken with them when they voted.

So many adults don't teach their kids the importance of having their voice heard. I think it was more important for me because the year I turned 18 was 1973, the country was a mess, Vietnam was still taking young men away from our town to fight and die. I can honestly say I have only missed 3 elections in the 4 states I have lived in, the first thing I do when we move is register.

What is even more dangerous than the young people not voting is their disinterest in reading enough material to get to the truth. They like it quick and dirty, and dirty is the word since the internet is full of bad information. Very few of them read any newspaper, online or otherwise. It is terrifying.

I have said before, my Grandfather said the biggest threat to democracy was an uninformed electorate, he was so right.

[theaocp]

41. NATIONAL FUCKING HOLIDAY

Makes sense and will stop the blather that too many in this thread have regarding their innate ability to know the lives and struggles of others.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

47. I think that is a good idea

Big difference between the ages groups is the younger ones have to work and are struggling financially. Older group is mostly retired and doing better financially. I think the young ones are overwhelmed and not voting because of work schedules. If it is a holiday, it should be a paid holiday for all.

[workinclasszero]

42. This is why old white Trump voters

are dragging this country straight to hell!

I'm old, white working class to boot but most people like me are faithful GOP voters, why I have no ****ing idea!

But rest assured, they will be voting in the midterms and 2020 as well.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

53. I saw that this morning on CBS

CBS indicated 70% of Millennial women described themselves (paraphrasing) as unhappy or angry with Donald Trump, but only 30% said they were definitely voting. So for the organizers, that is clearly where the work needs to be done. Even if you called RV in that age range without regard to any other demographic and just said "please go vote" without getting into who to vote for, that would likely make a big difference.

[crazycatlady]

57. Want young people to vote more? Address the issues they care about

The days of a politician giving speeches about Medicare on a college campus should be over.

Issues that young people care about (student loans, climate change, guns) are routinely ignored at the federal level. Young people are growing up in crippling debt (that the administration is actively working to make it harder for forgiveness) that can't be discharged in bankruptcy, seeing the planet cooking and storms like Sandy, Harvey, Irma and Maria), and watching their peers being gunned down at schools, colleges, movie theaters, malls, churches, nightclubs, etc. I'm 38 and things were different when I was growing up. I never once worried about a shooter at school (I graduated the year before Columbine).

Many politicians are doing absolutely nothing about this because they're in the pockets of Sallie Mae, oil companies, and the NRA. Young people know this. Seeing kids 6 figures in debt before they can (legally) have a beer does nothing to spark outrage-- in fact the outrage is redirected at the kids themselves and saying they shouldn't major in underwater basket weaving. (If a DUer can name a single college that offers such a major, I'll donate $10 to the Democratic campaign of your choice.) There was no outrage that turned into action when NY/NJ got destroyed by Sandy or last year with all of the storms. There's little concern about having overnight lows in the 80s in the northeast. And if 20 first graders being gunned down at school can't get a background check loophole closed, I don't know what can.

And people wonder why young people are apathetic.

[thucythucy]

82. "Issues that young people care about (student loans, climate change, guns)..."

Well, one party had a plan for dealing with student debt, the other party (the one in power) is rescinding regulations trying to reign in predatory lenders and debt collectors.

One party had a president who negotiated and signed onto the Paris Accords, the other party (the one in power) pulled out of the agreement and flat out denies climate change is even happening.

One party passed and enforced an assault weapons ban, had the CDC researching gun violence, wants to close the gun show loophole, while the other party (the one in power)....

Well, you get the idea.

The differences between the two parties are pretty stark. Anyone who thinks, for instance, that the NRA has equal clout (and gives equal support) to both parties is flat out delusional. Or (more likely) not paying attention.

Here's a thought--maybe if more young people voted, politicians might actually pay more attention to the issues they care about?

And are there really politicians who give speeches about Medicare on college campuses? Have you actually attended one of those?

[JI7]

94. those issues HAVE been addressed. young people don't vote becsuse they are not into Politics

as much as many other things.

the issues you mentioned HAVE been addressed and they are clear differences between republicans and democrats on those issues. those who are concerned about those issues will vote.

[Ponietz]

61. Postmodernism and its "non" conclusions are de riguer

[JI7]

65. only way to get large numbers of younger people to vote is to make it mandatory

otherwise it will remain low because younger people have other interests.

it's not about being disappointed in anything. it's just about being apolitical and caring more about other things.

[bearsfootball516]

67. That's correct.

Just a few years ago, I fell in that apolitical group. I was in college and all my mind was focused on was my classes, small mountains of homework, and being with my friends. I voted in the 2012 presidential election, but not in the 2010 or 2014 midterms. Back then, it just didn't matter to me.

To be honest, I'm not sure if there's any way to make it matter to them. That's just how people of that age think. Always have, historically.

[Mariana]

103. Always have, historically. Indeed.

To read the threads on this subject, it seems like an awful lot of older people imagine that this generation of young people is the first ever to think like that.

[JI7]

104. exactly, the older generations ALSO had LOW turnout when they were young

nothing new. young people today will increase turnout as they get older. and then they will complain about the non voting youth .

[Turbineguy]

66. cuz

we like fucked up!

[beachbum bob]

71. If you don't vote then you only have yourself to blame when things go to hell

[Historic NY]

76. I've gotten to the point where I really don't care.....

obviously they don't.

[progressoid]

88. GET OFF MY LAWN!!!

[samir.g]

92. too many young people are right wingers anyway

All those racists turds hiding behind their stupid cartoon frog.

[BlueWI]

98. Wow, some serious roasting of these young non-voters.

You might even think they're not our own kids and grandkids.

We're the ones who raised them.

We're the people that have had the vote for 30, 40, 50 years, and couldn't manage to keep basic civics on the school curriculum.

We're the people who benefited from cheaper college and drove SUVs, leaving them with unaffordable college bills and a warming planet.

We're the ones bashing them for not voting, while a good number of people our age voted for Trump.

Time to quit blaming young people and work to get them engaged in democracy, if we want a future. Showing some humility for our own collective policy failures might be timely as well. Trillions down the drain for wars of choice and defense industry graft, how long have we seen this happen and what has our response been?

Even more importantly, what will our response be as the current crisis continues? Trump is still at 39 percent approval as he steadily decimates democratic institutions. Have we shown, us adults and middle aged and elderly people, that we are able to check his power? If not, how are we in any position to lecture to someone else?

[Hawaii Hiker]

99. Young voters will stand in line ALL DAY for concert tickets,

Final 4 or Bowl game tickets, new I-phone release, etc but they can't take the 15 minutes to cast a ballot.......It's just lazy

[EllieBC]

107. This

They find plenty of time for that but no time to vote?

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

110. I don't think too many do that.

Most people buy their tickets online.

[EllieBC]

108. Well then, you deserve the government you choose to not

vote in.

Seniors and republicans will crawl across a slurry of broken glass and hot coals to vote. If you can't be bothered to show up, shut up. This is your chance to be "heard" as you are fond of whining about.

[bdamomma]

111. Very sad

that only 28% would vote, it isn't fake news is it?

Voting is a right. In other countries that cannot vote they wish they could. May be when they start losing their rights they will remember when they just blew it off.

Voting matters.