The Youth Vote: It’s Not So Simple

The presidential election this year is targeting all sorts of people. Both major candidates are attempting to secure the insert-adjective-here vote, with the adjective ranging from youth to veteran to minority to, of course, swing or undecided. One group that has been receiving a large amount of attention this year is the youth vote. It has become a trend, not only with the political parties themselves, but also with outside organizations like Rock the Vote, to appeal to this group. However, what exactly is the youth vote? And, almost more importantly, how is each candidate actually attempting to appeal to youth voters? Though the answers to these questions should be simple, as this group appears to be a large focus of the campaign, a thorough search for information can leave one still wondering.

The first major issue that needs to be addressed about the youth vote is what exactly the youth vote is. All voters are at least 18 years old, and therefore, in most cases, would be considered to have outgrown the title of youth. However, if the term is considered relative to other voters then the youth vote would be the younger voters, most likely those in their teens and twenties. Youth voters can also be described as those who are being targeted by or are involved with Rock the Vote or MTV’s Choose or Loose. Regardless of how the youth vote is described, its importance is undeniable as it is a large portion of the vote and is a

Another important debate regarding the youth vote is what issues are important to this group. Just as it is with any group, people try to generalize what is important to the group and assume that the same thing is important to each member. Also just as it is with any group, this logic is flawed regarding the youth vote. However, some generalizations can be made, with explanation behind them, as to what issues may be important to youth voters. It would make sense for education to be a major issue of youth voters as they the most recently, if not currently, connected to this institution. Another large issue for the youth would be military actions, especially any actions that would include a draft, as the youth are the one who would be drafted. These issues may attract youth voters more than other voting groups.

One of the most important aspects to gaining the youth vote; however is rhetorically appealing to youth voters. By talking about the youth vote and by declaring oneself as appealing to this group, it is possible to make youth voters feel more comfortable and make the statement become more truthful. In this election, the more masterful user of rhetoric, between the two major-party candidates, is President Bush. He, along with the Republican Party, uses rhetoric constantly to draw in voters, declaring themselves as perfect for different purposes and by making voters feel comfortable and happy. In general, and in regard to the youth vote, Senator Kerry is less skillful is the use of rhetoric. This would seem to hurt him, however there are other non-policy advantages for Kerry. Third Parties, such as the Socialist Party U.S.A, are less able to use rhetoric purely from a logistical standpoint; rhetoric relies on media attention and large-scale opportunities to reach others, something that third parties are missing.

In addition to the craft of effective rhetoric, there are other non-policy ways to appeal to the youth vote, such as grassroots programs through colleges and youth organizations. The Republicans, with their presidential candidate George W. Bush, have spent large quantities of money to spread their ideas throughout college campuses, and even have a “Student” section on their website, http://www.georgewbush.com/Students/, which advocates the group Students for Bush. John Kerry, the Democratic candidate, is supposedly relying more on outside groups to attract the youth vote, according to Timothy Egan in his article “Vote Drives gain Avid Attention of Youth in ’04.” However, the Kerry-Edwards site also has a student section, http://www.johnkerry.com/communities/students/, which even has a link to see how Kerry and Bush compare in issues related to different college majors. While the Socialist Party U.S.A, and their presidential candidate, Walt Brown, do not seem to focus on youths on their website, http://www.waltbrownforpresident.org/, there is an organization devoted entirely to youth socialists, the Young People’s Socialist League (YPSL). On the YPSL website, http://www.ypsl.org, they outline different events and principles related to their organization and even give a pronunciation for their name, “Yipsel.” The idea of attracting the youth vote seems to be addressed by these websites, however what should really matter is a candidates policies.

One of the most important issues to the youth vote should be education. Many youth voters are still students, most recently were students, and some are starting families where they have children who soon will be students. The Democrats, Republicans, and Socialists all outline different education ideas in their platforms. John Kerry states that he will reform education on his website, by working with No Child Left Behind and by creating “School’s Open ‘Til Six” initiative to increase extracurricular options at schools. He also wants to institute a tax credit on $4,000 per year of college. President Bush wants to increase loan limits for college aid, continue the policies of No Child Left Behind, and also to allow parents more choices in regard to what schools their children attend. Walt Brown supports free public education and opposed the government funding private education opposes teachers being paid based on student performance. In general the Socialist Party also is for education being available to everyone, regardless of race, language, or learning style. All three parties believe that their ideas are in the best interest of Americans and that their ideas will amount to a strong education program in the United States.

Another important issue to the youth vote is the war in Iraq. This issue is important to all voters as it affects our national security and possibly personal safety. However, youth voters have a different perspective, as they are the ones being recruited for war and the ones who would be drafted if a draft were to be reinstituted. Kerry claims to want to strengthen the military, but does not declare the need for a draft. Instead, he brings up other methods such as transforming the National Guard. Bush also avoids mention of a draft, advocating other methods as well. The Socialist Party is more defined on the issue of a draft. On their website they declare opposition to the draft and to recruiting, and on the Brown campaign site they declare opposition to all “imperialistic” American policies. The Socialist ideas diminish the power of the military, unlike the two major parties ideas to strengthen it.

Overall both the Democrats and the Republicans, along with the lesser-known Socialists, do make attempts to appeal to the youth vote. On the issue of education, all three parties are for reform, which would supposedly create a stronger education program. The most interesting proposition by any party on this issue, which may actually be the most appealing to the youth vote, is entirely free public education, which is a proposal by Socialists. Both other parties are more vague with their ideas, though they do declare ideas that would make education easier to pay for. Assuming that youth voters want to avoid a draft, which could force them into the military without desire, all three parties seem appealing. However, youth voters are not in general opposed to the military entirely, and therefore the Socialists lose points there. In general, the three parties try in their own ways to appeal to the youth vote. All three have websites with attention to youths or students, which are connected to organizations supporting the party’s ideas.

In conclusion, all three parties are successful in attracting the youth vote with their actions. Their policy is attempting to reach out to the youth vote, and more importantly there is attention going to the youth vote. Without attention, people are less likely to vote. Once attention is given, a voter is more likely to listen and respond to ideas. Since the ideas of all three parties could be attractive to youth voters and all three parties are attempting to attract youth voters, all three parties are succeeding in getting out the youth vote. Which party is the most successful, however, can’t be seen until November 2nd.