We all know how horrible Americans are at voting. However, voter turnout amongst younger voters is even lower. By the end of the article I will want to address several issues: look into the past, compare different generations of voters, what affects voter turnout, and explain how we can increase voter turnout especially with the youth. This is a lot to digest, but it is crucial information to understand in order to protect democracy in America.

Voter Flashback and Comparison

We have to look at the history of voter turnout in America. According to the United States Projections Office,18-29 year olds have the lowest voter turnout throughout history. In 2014 it was as low as 15%, but during presidential elections it would raise as high as 49%.

Then, another study shows more promising results. Figure 1, shows that the youth vote has maintained between 40 to 50 percent and increases during elections years. However, it was not enough to break through last place in voter turnout. As we observe an increase in age we see a rise in voter turnout. There are also other factors that have played throughout history that prevents the youth from having more control of the electorate. For example examine Figure 2.

In 2008 we see the youth holds roughly 18% of the electorate. However, as noted two major factors that influence the youth’s share of the electorate are population sizes in other age groups and turnout rate. For instance, since only 52 percent of eligible youth voted they do not obtain their full share of the electorate. If youth voter turnout increased to 75% then the youth would have a larger share of all votes in the electorate. Then if youth turnout was lower they would control a smaller share of the electorate.

What Affects Voter Turnout?

There are several factors that affect voter turnout. The first one I want to cover is electoral competitiveness. This is by far one of the most important factors especially when covering presidential elections. This plays the biggest role when it comes to competitive states. For battleground states such as Ohio, Florida, Virginia and North Caroline (to name only a few) more people are likely to turnout to vote.

Citizens know that casting their vote could determine the elections especially in swing states. Republicans have learned this from my home state of Ohio. Republicans do not win presidential elections without the great state of Ohio. On the other hand, states such as California, Texas, New York, and Alabama tend to have lower turnout. This is mainly due to the fact that these states have populations that favor one political party over the other dramatically. Therefore, some individuals believe they are wasting their time voting because their party does not have a chance. One example of this would be a Republican voting in California. More than likely his party has no chance of winning and suppresses the vote.

In addition to electoral competitiveness, the election type can play a major role in determining voter outcome. Elections that tend to have lower turnout are primary elections, off-year elections for state legislators, and local elections. People do not see these elections as important as presidential elections. They have to take care of their families, work or they have other activities to attend to that they see as more important than voting. Along with types of elections another inhibitor is voting laws.

Voter laws tend to have a more negative effect on voter participation. These include voter registration laws, and voter identification laws. Republicans claim these prevent voter fraud, but it has become evident that these laws have had negative consequences on voter turnout. In addition, voter fraud has been classified as a myth according to the increase of research of the topic. The Washington Post wrote a great article on some of these studies.

Lastly, we have demographics. Yes, as much as the right wants to claim that everyone has the right to vote regardless of who you are is a lie. More often than not, voters tend to be older wealthier, whiter, and educated than non-voters. According to fairvote.org 18-29 year olds tend to vote between 15 to 20 points lower than citizens 30 years and older. In addition, whites tend to vote at a higher rate than any other ethnicity, but 2012 was the first time we have seen the African American vote exceed the white vote (66.2% to 64.1%).

Also, Latinos voted at 48% and Asian Americans voted at 47.3%. These statistics are nice to see considering the amount of voter discrimination that has happened through more conservative states regarding the African American vote. We however, are not done fighting for fair and equal elections.

How Do We Increase Turnout?

With all of these rules and regulations why even try voting? Well the vast majority of voters believe it is their civic duty to vote. Others do it because it is a habit they developed or they simply love participating in our democratic society. However, there are ways to increase voter turnout.

First, we could move from the Electoral College to the national popular vote. Now, the Electoral College is in the Constitution so it would be rather hard to change, but nothing is impossible if we come together. With the popular vote in place, each vote across the nation would be equally valuable in each election. Instead of candidates focusing on only a few swing states this would force them to appeal across the nation. For those states that were not important before would now be hammered with campaign ads and as a result cause an increase in voting.

It would be wonderful to see candidates branch out beyond battleground states and appeal to the public as a whole. In addition, the most important action that we could take to increase voter turnout to me is universal voter registration. Instead of forcing people to pay for an ID the government could implement a system that sends voter identification cards to individuals once they turn 18. By doing so, poor families could vote, and it would put everyone on an equal playing field. People would have no reason not to vote.

In addition to the universal registration the government could maintain accurate and complete voter rolls. This way the miniscule amount of voter fraud that currently exists would completely be destroyed.

In Conclusion

It is a shame that voter turnout is so low in the greatest democracy in the world. It sickens me more to look at the voter turnout by my peers. Voting is single handedly the most important civic duty we as citizens have. When we do not vote we allow the elites to remain control. We have to come together as citizens and demand fair democracy for ALL. I love this country, I love my fellow Americans, I just want to see an increase in involvement from citizens. We can change this country together. Whether you are a conservative or liberal you have to make your voice hear. We have rights…, USE THEM.

Sources:

• “Voter Turnout – Fairvote.” FairVote. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.
• “Youth Voting.” CIRCLE RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.