Young Voters and Their Importance
Young voters coming from the age range of 18-29 neglect the importance of voting. They are the least engaged group compared to older ones. Voting is an act of civic participation that has to be participated by eligible voters especially the younger ones.
Votes from young people are a powerful stimulus to make their voices be heard and to speak up the concerns that affect them.
Here’s why young voters must exercise the importance to vote.
Half of the Voting Population are Young Voters. Young voters are great in number; hence their voice is powerful enough to influence handling issues in the country. An expert suggests that in U.S. millennials are perceived to be the powerful group to drive the elections. A lot may happen in succeeding years after elections, the impact of this greatly affect young people’s lives. It directly affects education, federal job programs, and resources.
Every Vote Counts. Young voters don’t think their vote matters. They are not interested in politics and perceive the system is corrupt. They don’t want to be involved with issues the elections could go through. The mindset of the youth clearly expresses why there was a turnout in the elections, they feel disaffected and disconnected from the system.
A single vote could change everything. There have been a lot of races that happened in the past that as decided by a single vote or concluded with a tie. In 2016, Wyoming state House GOP was decided with just one vote, 583 to 582. In the U.S., Democrat Al Franken won over Republican Norm Coleman by 312 votes out of million votes cast. Democrats were gained a 60-vote majority in the Senate. To add more, in 2004 when a special election in Radford Virginia for commonwealth’s attorney, it was decided by just one vote.
Decisions of Today Have a Great Impact on the Younger Generations. The majority of this young group doesn’t think that voting is an effective way to change society. But little did they know that they are the ones that will be hit hard by the recession. Hot button issues of today are mostly the concern issues of young voters. No one else could decide for the welfare of the youth except the youth themselves. Voting for a candidate who they feel represents their needs is an opportunity to influence change for the future. It is best for the youth to exercise the right to participate in political discourse and voting.
Educated voters. Social media and the internet have now become a platform to reach out to the youths because of its immense reach and broad range. To cite an example, Instagram ran a campaign to encourage users to register to vote, Snapchat also runs a similar campaign as well as Twitter and Facebook. The digital scheme takes an important role in promoting a culture of political engagement and electoral participation. Efforts were seen from celebrities, politicians, and other well-known people advocating the youth, exercising the right to vote shows that the power comes from the young people. These efforts draw interest for young voters to participate especially when they feel and see that their voices are being heard and their concerns are taken care of.
Youth Vote Does the Difference. Every single vote of youth does matter, it could send a big wave in the election. Millennials did create significant voting history when President Obama on his second term as president did win 67% by youth vote in 2012. It brings a hard campaign targeting millennials because of their powerful voice in 2016.
Youth choice makes a difference. They must take part in the election, join the force to shape up a good future in the coming years.