Kang Chu
A11675653
Prof. Galdesiri
Young Voters and the Future
People in democratic countries think that having the right to vote is the very essence of democracy (449, KJVK). Although participating in voting is the most powerful tool for everyone in democratic countries to participate in political activities, not every citizen tends to do so even if the results of voting can directly affect his or her life. There are many factors that can affect the voting turnout, and it does not take long to identify that the older generations voluntarily participate in voting more likely than the younger generations, and the turnout difference between the older and younger generations are more distinct during the midterm elections. Although the low interest …show more content…
It seemed as turnout numbers for the younger generation had been going up in last decades, but 2014 election showed that the turnout number for the younger generation is significantly lower than the older generations and it clearly showed in 2014 midterm election where it hit the lowest mark on record. In Daniel Shea’s article, he introduces an interesting theory that explains the low turnout numbers of young generation in midterm elections: low trust on government (Shea, 467-469). The low trust of younger citizens on their government can prevent the younger generation from voting. As mentioned above, many young voters identify themselves as independent, and one main reason for this is the lack of trust on their own government. Because they do not or cannot trust their government, they lose interest in political issues, and these can ultimately lead them to lack of the party affiliations, however, this can be different for the older generations. The older generations had been actively involved in political activities for a long time as it is mentioned above in “Generation theory” that they are still politically active even though the level of trust has been dropped. Even with the low level of trust, they are still strong partisans of their political parties that they are belongs to. The younger generation citizens feel much less that they need to be actively engaged in political activities when they cannot trust their own
A11675653
Prof. Galdesiri
Young Voters and the Future
People in democratic countries think that having the right to vote is the very essence of democracy (449, KJVK). Although participating in voting is the most powerful tool for everyone in democratic countries to participate in political activities, not every citizen tends to do so even if the results of voting can directly affect his or her life. There are many factors that can affect the voting turnout, and it does not take long to identify that the older generations voluntarily participate in voting more likely than the younger generations, and the turnout difference between the older and younger generations are more distinct during the midterm elections. Although the low interest …show more content…
It seemed as turnout numbers for the younger generation had been going up in last decades, but 2014 election showed that the turnout number for the younger generation is significantly lower than the older generations and it clearly showed in 2014 midterm election where it hit the lowest mark on record. In Daniel Shea’s article, he introduces an interesting theory that explains the low turnout numbers of young generation in midterm elections: low trust on government (Shea, 467-469). The low trust of younger citizens on their government can prevent the younger generation from voting. As mentioned above, many young voters identify themselves as independent, and one main reason for this is the lack of trust on their own government. Because they do not or cannot trust their government, they lose interest in political issues, and these can ultimately lead them to lack of the party affiliations, however, this can be different for the older generations. The older generations had been actively involved in political activities for a long time as it is mentioned above in “Generation theory” that they are still politically active even though the level of trust has been dropped. Even with the low level of trust, they are still strong partisans of their political parties that they are belongs to. The younger generation citizens feel much less that they need to be actively engaged in political activities when they cannot trust their own