Stuck between wanting a voice but feeling like the voice of individuals don’t count, students like 18-year-old Nikki Graham often avoid voting.
“I feel like voting is a waste of time,” Graham said. “There’s a slim chance of getting who you want to represent you.”
Apparently, Graham isn’t alone in feeling like the votes of young people don’t matter.
The number of those voting under the age of 30 fell significantly between 2008, when Americans elected the first black president, and 2012, according to the Center on Civic Learning and Engagement.
Steve Mulroy, a 50-year-old law professor at the University of Memphis, said that young people typically don’t vote because they tend to feel like they have less at stake in the outcome of elections. That attitude may change in the upcoming 2016 presidential elec- tion, he said.
“If Hillary Clinton wins the Democratic nomination, more young people will likely vote,” Mulroy said. “It’ll be the first time a female candidate has had a serious chance of winning the White House.”
Mulroy calls the 2016 presiden- tial election a “first” election, similar to the election of President Obama in 2008, which galvanized the youth vote.
He said that figuring out how to increase the number of voters in the 18 to 29 age range is essential.
“The political strategist who figures that out will run the electoral table and transform the nation, probably for the better,” Mulroy said.
He thinks that in the upcoming presidential election, young voters will lean toward the Democratic frontrunner.
“Young people tend to be concerned about social injustices, and more impatient for government to take an active role,” Mulroy said.
Zackary Northcutt, a 19-year- old engineering student, blames the Electoral College for making young people feel like their votes don’t matter.
Northcutt isn’t currently registered to vote, and he said he probably wouldn’t register any time soon. “Our voice is just a minute fraction in the grand scheme of things,” he said. However, not all students believe that young people should shirk their voting responsibilities.
Charles Uffelman, a 22-year- old political science student who recently worked as a field organizer and strategist for the A C Wharton mayoral campaign, he said young people just want to be informed about their vote.
“I’ve noticed that young people want to hear from the candidates, and meet them and ask them questions,” Uffelman said. “In the mayoral campaign, I saw many more young people volunteering for campaigns than older people.” Uffleman said that more young people will likely vote in the 2016 presidential election than they did in 2012.
“I’m not sure if we will beat 2008, but the opportunity for the first female nominee could draw large numbers,” he said. “Only time will tell.”
Uffelman also said that people who are pessimistic about millennials simply aren’t paying attention.
“It’s hard to get everyone registered to vote right after they become eligible at 18,” he said. “Don’t buy into the hype that our generation isn’t involved or doesn’t care. We care, and we care a lot more than young people have in the past.”
