People between the ages of 18 and 25 were the lowest percentage of those who voted in the Shelby Country Federal state primary and county general elections in 2014.
An average of 2.3 percent of those in the age demographic went to the polls, according to the Shelby County Elections Commission.
With such low turnout among younger voters, some are worried about voter turn out in the upcoming Shelby County mayoral elections in October.
"If we are going to encourage young people to vote, they have to have something to gain or lose," said Jerry Hall, head of government relations for the Redwing group, a public relations strategies firm.
Arda Noel, 25, did not vote in the previous election.
"Politicians place their campaign's focus on the older groups,” Noel said. “Until they reach out to us the way they do the older people, we have no idea who to vote for because they are all doing and saying the same thing to get elected.”
Bretran Thompson, 56, campaign manager for multiple politicians in Tennessee, expressed concerns for reaching out and mentoring the youth. He says the youth isn't as knowledgeable as they need to be about voting. He said it is extremely hard to get people between the ages of 18 and 25 to vote.
"The young voters get engaged by who that candidate is and what issues that candidate espouses," Thompson said.
Thompson also said the Internet age is prevalent in today's economy and placed an emphasis on utilizing social media to interact with the youth.
Douglas Scarboro is the head of Mayor A C Wharton's administration and focuses on the development of the city's image. He said the mayor is very active on social media and should have over 10,000 jobs created in the next year, which will have a huge impact on the youth.
"The youth was very instrumental in getting Wharton elected previously," Scarboro said. "Recently, our administration held a gathering for the Ferguson issue where the youth led the gathering and discussed their concerns."
Scarboro also stated that several University of Memphis students between the ages of 18 and 25 are working on Wharton's campaign.
James Harvey, former vice president and mortgage banker for Tri-State Bank of Memphis, is one of the candidates running against Mayor AC Wharton to become the Mayor of Memphis. Harvey currently has 25 people between the ages of 18 and 25 working on his campaign and plans to encourage more of the youth to work on his campaign. He considers the youth's lack of voting a dilemma and has a plan for encouraging the youth to vote.
"Our administration will create an opportunity for young adults to participate in many areas concerning decisions made on behalf of the community," Harvey said. "I want our youth to know if they utilize their voices and their right to vote, they will make history in the upcoming mayoral election."
