Getting The Younger Vote

We have the opportunity to lead the polls! We have the opportunity to take control of our future. But will we?

In an educational article published by Medium, a non-profit, educational publishing firm, Dr. Polonski researched and explained how the use of social media impacted general elections. Elections all around the world are being taken and publically discussed by people who may have never even met in person. He also goes into what happens when one party neglects the use of social media in their campaign and how the other uses it to activate young voters. He then uses this comparison and applies it to the idea of active younger voter turnout. He investigates the uses of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter as sources of information.

It has been discovered that by simply getting the ball rolling and talking about politics on social media platforms can preliminarily hold politicians accountable and young voters are the people doing that!

However, as stated by the New Yok Times, that although youth voter registration is at an all-time high, youth turnout is at an all-time low. But why can we register from the safety of our homes and discuss our political beliefs all over social media, but can’t go and place our name and votes on a ballot?

https://medium.com //from-voices-to-votes-how-young-people-used-social-media-to-influence-the-general-election-5a6810624831.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/02/us/politics/young-voters-midterms.html

Medium – Get smarter about what matters to you. Medium is not like any other platform on the internet. Our sole purpose is to help you find compelling ideas, knowledge, and perspectives. We don’t serve ads—we serve you, the curious reader who loves to learn new things. Medium is home to thousands of independent voices, and we combine humans a...

Many younger voters stated on of the reasons that they didn’t vote was because the polling times were inconvenient. The Center for American Progress is an organization that focuses on how to make voting better and simpler. They have provided documents to give to your employer that allows you to go vote while the polls are still open, and they have also provided you with a link to help you determine what polls around you are open the latest and which ones most conveniently fit your schedule! They believe that, America can build an election system based on pro-voter policies and practices that drive participation by all eligible voters. To do so, first, barriers to registering to vote and to voting must be eliminated, and reforms must be implemented in order to enable all eligible Americans to cast a ballot that will be securely counted. Making polls more accessible is just the first of many steps in the right direction.

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/democracy/reports/2018/07/11/453319/increasing-voter-participation-america/

Increasing Voter Participation in America - Center for American Progress Structural barriers and cynicism about government keep millions of eligible Americans from participating in elections; here’s how to fix that.

How do we avoid the “other”, showcased in the infographic? Well we need to empower the younger voters of today. The League of Women Voters has pinned exactly what prevents younger voters from voting and how that puts them in the “other” category. Empowering the Voters of Tomorrow. The title almost says it all. A game plan for executing young voter registration drives. The authors of this manual devise a strategy for helping get young voters registered and ready to vote. Throughout the manual you will find how to register to vote, how to fill out a ballot, how to fill out an absentee ballot, how to research candidates and much, much more. It mainstreams the voter registration process and really drives home the importance of proper education, to culminate what it means to be a lifelong, active voter.
https://www.lwv.org/sites/default/files/201806/empowering_the_voters_of_tomorrow.2018.final_.pdf.

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How can we better help young voters navigate through all of the facts? On The Issues is an organization that wants to help with this. This organization strives to provide superb candidate reviews. However, these reviews aren’t based on opinions or percentages, they are candidate profiles that are comprised of straight facts that define who they are as political candidates. Voters can access this organization’s website at any time to help guide them through the maze of becoming an informed voter.
https://www.ontheissues.org/default.htm

OnTheIssues.org - Candidates on the Issues

So, old fashioned ballots inconvenience use and lead to low millennial voter turnout? For a generation that has reverted to vinyl and nostalgic trends that follow, the main thing deterring us is outdated ballots? We have to do better. Because of the inconvenience and lack of reward some millennials see in voting, many young people have chosen to not vote on election day. In the last midterm election, just 16 percent of millennials casted a vote. With millennials representing almost one-third of the country, young adults of America have the opportunity to make a significant difference at the polls this election. Yet, we aren’t! Do we really need to have robot there to push the answers for us or can we do it ourselves? The University of Arkansas’s article predicts if we can or not…
http://www.uatrav.com/lifestyles/article_59398dca-e2d4-11e8-9703-23969fbc0791.html

Old Fashioned Ballots, Inconvenience Lead to Low Millennial Voter Turnout In the last midterm election, just 16 percent of millennials cast a vote. Being an out-of-state student, or not being able to easily access registration online contribute, one UA student

Turnout rates by ethnicity and race are historically mediocre, with Non-Hispanic Black and Non-Hispanic White hovering around 50% involvement, Hispanic and other remain at around 38%. Turnout rates for education, are much more separated though. People with Post-Graduate Degrees are turning out at double the rate of people with less than a High School Diploma. Lastly, the Turnout among voters 18-30 is 50% less than the 60+ demographic! The University of Florida dedicated a how research project to determine the difference in demographic turnout and concluded that age and education are the major factors.

So, if age and education are the main dividing lines between active and inactive voters, how do we bridge the gap?

The Harvard Institute of Politics suggests that we dive into the convergence of party lines. Since the major divide doesn’t come from separate political parties, lets look inside them to see how they engage the different demographics. Since democrats typically pull in the younger voters, and republicans the middle aged and up, the key to drawing in every demographic lies somewhere in between.
http://www.electproject.org/home/voter-turnout/demographics
https://iop.harvard.edu/spring-2018-national-youth-poll

Voter Turnout Demographics - United States Elections Project

Penn State has published an article that allows anyone at any time to access this database and to research national party platforms, state party platforms and even county party platforms! It highlights how to vote, why to vote and your rights as a voter to public information. This database even has a section titled, “Thinking about Political Issues”, that entices you to think about what you think and how you feel and put them into this matrix to pair you with a party that best suites you!
https://guides.libraries.psu.edu/HBGvote/platforms

USA.Gov is a non-profit organization that specializes in everything government related. This particular article however, is focused only on how to register to vote. So now there are literally no excuses! It walks you through the registration process, Absentee and Early Voting, How to decide who to vote for, Voter ID requirements, and how to check or change your registration. It’s an one stop shop!
https://www.usa.gov/how-to-vote?utm_campaign=%2B%20Voting%20and%20Elections&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz9sRcFmE6_89VKAeQ35ltUGUDdvYF7FN3B9x91gvXB0MHv4G3C_jmp6RIKMsaNcRnS30fa9vOVe9P7CMYMJSECs7Zew

How to Vote or Register to Vote | USAGov Find information on registering to vote, how to vote, absentee and early voting, and voting on Election Day. Locate your polling place and make sure you've registered to vote.

Election Information You Need, is an article published by VOTE411.org, that organizes all of the voting information that you would need to register, make an informed decision on party alliance, find information on hot topics and most importantly align you with decisions that would make you an informed and active voter. But perhaps the most important aspect to notice is that this website only published factual, non-biased information in an effort to inform potential voters but to not sway them one way or another.
https://www.vote411.org

VOTE411 Election information you need. Brought to you by The League of Women Voters Education Fund.

Only 34% of American can even name the three branches of the federal government. Can you? Despite all of the entertaining events during the primaries, most people have given little notice to the candidates’ proposals and stances on policy changes. Uneducated voters are worse than absent voters because they are voting for things that they know nothing about. However, just because these voters are ignorant, does not mean that they are stupid! Do you know anything about the structure of our government or the parties that occupy it? Click the long below to find out.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaredmeyer/2016/06/27/american-voters-are-ignorant-but-not-stupid/

The Ignorant Voter No matter how smart we are, all of us are ignorant about the vast majority of the information out there.

I know it may sounds disrespectful and may even come off as we are being deduced to social media tools, but the major way to capture the younger voters’ interests are by getting a hashtag trending. Some of us may have guessed that, and some of us may disagree, but it’s true! We, as younger voters, are captured by anything that is trending or that insights mass rebuttal. News Week has published this article containing the top ten election day hashtags that are used during every election. You can reference these to see what ballot propositions and candidates are being talked about and what your peers think about them!
https://www.newsweek.com/10-election-day-hashtags-watch-518703

10 election day hashtags to watch Besides the basic , there's , , and more.

How to Increase Poll appeal in a major factor that polling agencies are trying to hack. Although we wouldn’t like to think that we are so vein, we are. The dark and dingy basement of some KC hell isn’t the most appealing place to spend an hour in line and ten minutes in a booth out of your day, and they recognize that. The Elections & Voting Commission has laid out a plan to increase curb appeal and pleasuring scenery once inside to bring an overall sense of comfort to us during the voting process. The changes are laid out here in this article and you won’t want to miss out.
https://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/goVoteMissouri/howtovote

How to Vote If you do not possess any of these forms of identification, but are a registered voter, you may still cast a provisional ballot. Your provisional ballot will be counted if you return to the polling place and show an Option 1 ID or if the signature on the provisional ballot envelope matches the signa...

Educating young voters about the political process can build lifelong habits, create a familial dialogue about citizenship and increase overall voter turnout. Building a relationship with the political process early on is key in forming lifelong voting habits and The Citizens Clean Elections Commission is all about promoting youth-voting interaction. They break down the entire process of becoming a registered voter, receiving a ballot, getting informed and casting your ballot. If you ever have any questions along the way reference this page! This article will set you up to be a voter for life!
https://www.azcleanelections.gov/how-to-vote/youth-voters

Youth Voters

Younger Generation make up a majority of the electorate, but are far from the majority fo voters in the polls. Generation X, Millennials and the post-Millennial generation make up a clear majority of voting-eligible adults in the United States, but if past midterm election turnout patterns hold true, they are unlikely to cast the majority of votes in the upcoming election. At the same age, Baby Boomers and older generations have been more likely to vote in midterm elections than us. Pew Research Center has detailed a report filled with statistics comparisons and contrasts. We have to do better. If what this article layouts holds true, we are in big trouble in the very near future.

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/06/14/younger-generations-make-up-a-majority-of-the-electorate-but-may-not-be-a-majority-of-voters-this-november/

Will Millennial, GenX voters match older generations in 2018 turnout? If past U.S. midterm election turnout patterns hold true, Generation Xers and younger generations are unlikely to cast the majority of votes this November.

The organization of Voters United have a form that you fill out and it takes approximately two minutes! So, in the time that you stand in line to board a plane, or take a picture of your Starbucks in the right lighting and pick your filter, you can register for your absentee ballot. If all else fails, and you can’t make it to the polls because you are busy or away from home or just didn’t care that day, go here and get your ballot and make a difference!
https://www.vote.org/absentee-ballot/

Get Your Absentee Ballot - Vote.org It takes 2 minutes to get your absentee ballot. Get started now.

The Disability Justice Network publishes all updates on the right to vote and all amendments and propositions that relate to voters with disabilities. They almost form as a union that serves solely to protect voters with disabilities and to represent them in congress! They have published an article with a series of videos and printouts to explain to people with disabilities what their rights are as voters. They even go as far as to list the states that prevent certain disabled people from voting. This is a great tool for us to use when we need to determine how to help young voters with disabilities.
https://disabilityjustice.org/right-to-vote/

reVup!-Register! Educate! Vote! Use your Power! ReVup is an organization that prides themselves in being able to “Make the Disability Vote Count”. They have even published a toolkit that lays out everything that you would need, whether you’re on short term disability or live with a disability in everyday life! They strive to make the voting process simple and to make sure that you never feel discouraged along the way. They make a concerted effort to get people with disabilities registered to vote, educated about this year’s election, and prepared to cast a ballot in November.
https://www.aapd.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2019-National-Disability-Voter-Registration-Week-Toolkit.pdf

www.aapd.com

The National Alliance of Mental Illness educates individuals and candidates about mental health issues, improving care and recovery and your voting rights. Knowing your voting rights is more important than ever now. You can find out how to vote privately and independently, how to bring someone to help you vote, or how to even get assistance from workers at the polling place. In order to ensure young people vote, we need to protect the “Incapable” voters of today as well. Some states even offer local mobile polling places at long-term care facilities, provide transportation to the polls, and provide absentee voting ballots. To see what your state offers, click the link below.
https://www.nami.org/Get-Involved/Take-Action-on-Advocacy-Issues/Vote4MentalHealth/Know-Your-Voting-Rights

Take Action on Policy Issues | NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness

We're lazy. Multiple studies published by the University of Florida have revealed that as voters, we are lazy. Voters between the ages of 18 and 30 turnout at the polls historically less than any other age range. We hover at around 30% engagement at the polls while other age groups, such as the 45 to 59 voters turnout at around 60%. That's almost double! Why can't we make it there?

We make way too many excuses. The Economic Enquiry published an entire 300-page study over why we don't vote and do you want to know what the conclusion of that study was? Not only are we lazy but we love to make excuses for ourselves. Who would have thought? The top two reasons that we don't vote are because, one, we are "too busy" (33.5%), and two, we are "not interested"(17.2%).

So, we are lazy, make excuses for everything and we're ignorant! We are too busy and uninterested in our future to head to the polls! We are ignorant enough to think that our government doesn't need input from the people that they represent! We are ignorant enough to think that the world around us will be okay and that politicians will do the right thing without us holding them accountable in the polls.

http://www.electproject.org/home/voter-turnout/demographics.

https://www.edweek.org/media/young-voter-survey-report-education-week.pdf

Voter Turnout Demographics - United States Elections Project

If you are between the ages of 18 and 30 you probably don't vote at midterms and primaries, but why?