Young Voters and Young People Registering to Vote in the Past Elections

Young Voters and Young People Registering to Vote in the Past Elections

Library Research

Young Voters and Young People Registering to Vote in the Past Elections has declined in the past years. This is reflected not only in the declining number of registrations but also in the low level of youth engagement. There is a very wide lag in between the young voters and their elder counterparts when it comes to interest in elections and the intention to vote. The participation of youth in elections is not even half of what it was a couple of years down the road. The trend has taken a sharp steep. While the figures for the past elections were recorded at 35 percent, those for the latest election showed only 18 percent participation (PEW Research Center, 2012). The paper examines the sociological reasons behind it.

Aims of the research

The aim of the research is to understand the reasons behind the fall in young voter registrations over the years.

Research Questions

Every research is based around some research questions. These are given hereunder.

Who are young voters?

Why does it matter whether the young vote or not?

How can the concerned authorities mobilize young voters?

What are the latest trends in voting?

What can be said about the age gap in voting preferences?

Young Voters

Young voters must be understood as a dynamic group of people who possess a unique social conscious. They are active. They engage in the civil matters and they have a different view than the views held by their parent's generation. They are politically aware and hold informed opinions. Their beliefs are ever so strong than the beliefs of any other person. These young voters are people who have the responsibility to change the face of politics, not only in the developing countries but also in the developed world (Circle, 2012). These young voters are people who have not forgotten the misery that befell United States of America in the form of September 11 attack on the twin tower. They remember the destruction of Hurricane Katrina and they know everything that is going on in Afghanistan and Iran. These are the Young Voters!

It was the aforementioned events and moments that made the youth realize that they have a responsibility when it comes to the selection of their leadership. The decisions that these leaders take have a direct impact on the countrymen. There is only one fundamental truth when it comes to elections and politics - a better leader today means a better future tomorrow (Rock the Vote, 2012).

There are 44 million people who have been regarded as eligible voters. Although they are young, their participation in the election has been acknowledged and they have been given the right to choose for themselves and their safe future. They are quite diverse in that sixty one percent of the total young voters are white, while Hispanics, Blacks and Asians make up 17%, 15% and 4% of the total young voters (PEW Research Center, ...