Youth Voters: Ignorant or Being Ignored?

Modern American youths are notorious for being uninterested in politics. Since the twenty-sixth amendment was ratified in 1971, lowering the voting age from twenty-one to eighteen, youth voter turnout has steadily declined. In the 1972 election, over 50% of eligible voters between the ages of 18 and 24 exercised their right to vote, while in 2000, under 40% of those citizens voted. Meanwhile, citizens above the age of 25 have consistently voted at a rate between 60% and 70% (Levine).
Despite the disappointing numbers, the future shows signs of hope. According to a poll conducted by Harvard, 62% of college students plan to vote in this year's election, compared to just 50% in 2000 (Hampson). In what is shaping up to be a very tight election, these extra voters could mean all the difference in determining the next president of the United States. By looking at the websites of the different parties, it is evident that the Republican Party, and even the Green Party, understands the importance of the youth vote while the Democrats do not.
Upon entering the official website of the Republican National Committee (www.rnc.org/), viewers might think they have entered the wrong URL. There seems to be no mention of George W. Bush; instead, there are many interactive features that criticize John Kerry. One feature, called flipper cam, mocks Kerry for his tendency to switch sides on issues. That theme is further taken advantage of in the political cartoon section. A feature called Kerry vs. Kerry shows a boxing match between John Kerry and himself. Don King introduces the bout, in which each round represents a different issue that Kerry has flip-flopped on. Kerryopoly and the Spendometer are also humorous features that bash John Kerry, this time for his extravagant spending. Finally, a link to a site called Dems Extreme Makeover provides more Kerry-bashing while also alluding to the popular television program. The advantage to all of these features is that they can draw the interest of youths and still make some valid points about the election. Why simply read about Kerry's flip-flops when you can watch Kerry punch himself while learning about his ambivalence on many issues? Beyond drawing the attention of potential youth voters, however, the Republican website merely does a mediocre job in actually trying to garner votes. The extensive outreach section includes links for students and young professionals, but in the discussion of the issues themselves, little is mentioned that would be of major significance to youth voters.
The Green Party website (www.gp.org/) also reveals a desire to attract the youth vote. On the front page, there are links to buy merchandise such as coffee and music, two products that have a major market in youths. There is also a link to a separate site called Campus Greens, an organization that promotes Green Party values at high schools and universities. Like the Republican website, however, the Green Party fails to make mention of any issues that would be of major concern to youths.
Like almost every other initiative to attract voters for this election, the Democrats lag far behind the Republicans in appealing to America's youth. The Democratic National Committee's website (http://www.democrats.org/) makes almost no effort to single out youth voters and make them feel important. Everything is very dry; there are no interactive features mocking Bush, who is arguably an easier target than Kerry. Like the other two parties, the Democrats make little mention of any issue that specifically pertains to youth voters. The website does mention Bush's record on higher education, but it does not discuss Kerry's plans. There is a hard to find "Young Americans" section of the website, which includes links to certain opportunities for youths and, possibly best of all, a College Democrats Blog. However, without doing a lot of clicking and exploring on the Democrats' website, youth voters feel insignificant to John Kerry.
Unfortunately, even though the Republican and Green parties recognize the importance of the youth vote, none of the parties do enough to reach out to youth voters. The Republicans' sense of humor and interactive features might draw the attention of youths, but without mentioning a serious issue for youths to vote on, the Republicans are doing very little to actually garner votes from young Americans. Similarly, the Green Party might sell young voters a CD or a coffee, but that does not necessarily translate into votes. Meanwhile, the Democrats, who would seem to have the easiest time earning the youth vote because of the liberal views of that demographic, have done very little to make youths feel significant in the election. What each party needs to do is make a link directly from its homepage to a section for youth voters. That section should include interactive, fun features, the candidate's position on issues that apply to youths, some type of youth voter blog, and possibly a discussion of why each youth vote is important. In such a tight election, the race could depend on the too-often-ignored youth vote, and each candidate should do everything possible to avoid losing the election by ignoring young Americans.

Works Consulted

Hampson, Rick. "The Youth Vote: Hard to tell how it will turn out." USA Today 19
Aug. 2004. 30 Sept. 2004 http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/ nation/president/2004-08-19-cover-youth-vote_x.htm.

Levine, Peter and Mark Hugo Lopez. Youth Voter Turnout has Declined, by any
Measure. Sept. 2002. The Center for Information & Research on Civic
Learning & Engagement. 30 Sept. 2004 http://www.civicyouth.org/research/products/Measuring_Youth_Voter_Turnout.pdf.