Margo Hutchinson

Advance Writing and Reporting

Gail Towns

Nov. 4, 2008

YOUTH

 

America’s Young Voters

By. Margo Hutchinson

 

Many have said that this 2008 election is the most important election in our history.  As for young voters, it’s a chance to improve their future. 

            College student Steve Goldfuss feels that this election is important to 21-year-olds such as him and younger voters.  “After four years, I will be in my mid-twenties and I want to vote for someone who I think is fit to secure the future.”  But are the young voters truly more involved in this election than the previous election? An article by Susan Mulligan on Boston.com expresses that this election has the youth more involved than previous campaigns.  Younger voters are even willing to get involved with the campaign if asked.  More reasons that have younger voters involved in this election are the due to technology such as the Internet.  The candidates use sites such as Facebook and Myspace to interact with the students and get them more interested in voting.  Throughout the Election Day, students donated their Facebook statuses to support the candidate of their choice. 

            Though in the past elections, younger voters were usually ‘missing in action’.  When the 26^th Amendment was passed in 1972, it allowed Americans 18 years of age and older to vote in the elections.  The American University in Washington D.C. stated that 55% of possible voters between the age of 18-29 voted and it’s the highest the percentage of young voters has ever been.  Young voters are seen as being apathetic towards the campaign and who is running, but many believe that this election will change that perception. 

            The younger voters are interested even more due to the shape the economy is in and want to know which candidate has the best plan to help get America out of these bad times.   Also what the next president will do about the war in Iraq, which is one of the top concerns of young Americans.  It seems that the younger voters are more interested with this election because it concerns their future.  And during the primaries the amount of young voters in that showed up increased.  And many voters, young and old, have faith that the young voter turnout will go down in history along with this election. 

            But this election has the older voters excited for the increase in young voters.  A political science professor Dr. Michel Kinney told The Daily Decatur that he noticed that a large amount of his students were registered to vote.   He decided to take a poll in his class to see how this election affected his students.  He told The Daily Decatur that “They're interested in the opportunities in education”. "They're also interested in taxes, believe it or not, and who's going to be paying for programs." 

            And the teen organization known as ‘Rock The Vote’ has 2.3 million voters registered for this years election which beats out the over 1million from 2004.  Basically, to be honest, the young generation was left with a mess and they want to make sure the find the right person to help clean it up not only for this generation, but to have hope for the next.