Home  News National News The year of the youth
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Written by Dr. Garth A. Rose
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Monday, 06 October 2008 |
 The stakes in the November elections are high for everyone, with the high foreclosure rates, drastic economic decline, high unemployment rates and the like; but it may be even higher for the youth and their children, who will no doubt inherit the trillions of dollars in debt that the country has racked up over the past eight years.
Depending on who takes office and how that president runs the country, the youth stands to suffer most since their future depends on availability of funds for student loans for college, mortgage loans and the availability of jobs when they hit the job market.
This is why it is extremely important for the youth – voters between ages 18 and 24 – to cast their vote this election.
Political analysts are taking a very close look at the youth vote who they say could be pivotal to the outcome of the elections. In fact, Time magazine, in article earlier this year, referred to 2008 as the “Year of the Youth Vote” and with good reason.
In the Democratic and Republican primaries held earlier this year, surveys in some 17 states showed an increase averaging 18 percent in the youth vote over primaries held in previous years. As registration drives by both parties head towards the October 6 deadline, reports from across the country reveal very high levels of registration among the youth, especially college students.
However, the big question for the forthcoming elections, is will the youth vote continue to rise? Can they be depended to turn out to vote? Judging from National Weekly interviews with some enthusiastic students registering to vote on a Broward College campus in Coconut Creek, the answer is yes. The consensus among the students is that these are serous times, and the youth’s vote will make a difference.
Bridgette Burnside, 19, a business freshman said, “Things need to change. The old guys have messed up. Look at the economy! It is our generation who will have to pay the national debt of trillions of dollars.”
Bradley Donovan, 22, a second year journalism student, said “I never paid attention to elections before, but this campaign is very interesting. I must vote. There are several things to vote for: peace in Iraq, health insurance for my family, more money for college. Plus, better terms are needed for student loans, or else I won’t be able to attend grad school.”
Krista Perdue, 23, involved in the registration drive said she decided to volunteer to register voters at colleges in the region because “It is time that the youth make their votes count. There is hardly any joy anymore, anywhere.” Perdue lamented that, “With funds so tight, school and home are stressful, and there is no money to go out and have fun, as few of us got jobs this summer. We must vote and let whoever win the election know that we are engaged, and need attention.”
Both the Obama and the McCain campaigns recognize a huge turnout of young voters could be pivotal to the outcome of the elections, especially as polls are showing large registration of new youth voters. However, the youth vote, as has been proven in the past, cannot be taken for granted.
Granville Deer, 24, a law student at Colombia University, in a telephone interview with the National Weekly said, “I’m still not sure if I’m going to vote. I’m disappointed with both Obama’s and McCain’s knee jerk reaction to the Wall Street mess. We need a revolutionary to fix the economy, and our weak foreign policy. I am not sure if either of the candidates are revolutionaries.”
Deer acknowledges that the election is about the youth, offering that “My age group will soon be looking for jobs in this ruined economy, and fighting in Iraq if the war continues. This election is about us, and every young person with a vote should vote, but I am still waiting to be convinced.”
In past general elections much hope was placed on the youth vote, but they consistently disappointed candidates. Although the youth vote represents an estimated 13 percent of the total electorate, that vote has averaged just under 40 percent in general elections held since the voting age was lowered to 18 in 1972.
There were a few elections that belied the apathy among the youth. In the 1968 elections, before the voting age was lowered, votes cast by those under 25 were estimated at 55 percent. This was at the height of the unpopular Vietnam War; the first elections after the passage of the Civil Rights Bill; and a popular Republican candidate, Richard Nixon, campaigning against unpopular President Lyndon Johnson. The youth hoped that Nixon would end the war, but in 1972 when the war still raged, although the voting age was lowered to 18, the youth vote again slipped to well blow 50 percent. The youth lost faith in politics and their interest waned. However, in the 2004 general elections, following closely on another war, in Iraq, there were signs of the youth vote picking up, increasing by some 11 percent over the 2000 elections.
This year might be the year the youth comes through again.
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