Growing up, I simply could not wait to get involved in the American democratic process. My parents' "I Voted" sticker was the badge of honor I paraded around wearing exuberantly for weeks past the elections. At that young age, my classmates never really understood what riveted me so much, but I had a real fire for talking about specific policies or candidates. Granted, I was about ten years old, but I still have that same passion when my peers ask me political based questions.
Now, freshly turned eighteen with my voter registration application submitted online, the world is different than it was eight years ago (do not worry, I will still wear my "I Voted" sticker on election day). As I attend various different political events, from a GOP Presidential Debate viewing party to Bernie Sanders' Town Hall Meeting, it is great to see the myriads of people, particularly the youth, involved and wanting to believe in specific economic and social policies.
Like every election season, the young voter is an important demographic. But how vital is it? The Center for Information & Research on Civic and Learning Engagement explains that 46 million young people (ages 18-29) v. 39 million seniors (ages 65 and older) are eligible to vote. Those young and registered to vote also have high turnout numbers that are at about 84%, but overall as a whole that makes up for roughly 45% of the total youth eligible to vote. Potentially, with enough voter turnout, the youth could majorly be the swing vote for an election.
The saying goes "a way to a man's heart is through his stomach". In politics, the saying should be "a way to the youth vote is through social media." I wrote a paper junior year of high school on the causes and effects of political advertisements on the youth titled, "Keeping Up with the Constituency" (a play on Keeping up with the Kardashians). The paper primarily focused on the 2010 midterms, where reports from The Atlantic disclosed that Facebook "peer pressured" 340,000 people to the polls. Eligible Americans who logged in on Election Day received a notification to partake in their civic duty as Americans. This type of internet strategy has been used for years to drive potential youth voters to the polls.
Rock the Vote has an awesome campaign encouraging young people to register and vote. They started internet registration in the '90s as the first to offer it online as well as over the phone. Roughly 12,000 Americans turn 18 years of age every day. Rock the Vote aims to motivate them to take advantage in their American privilege and voice their opinions. They use clever tactics, such as social media and popular culture, to urge young people to do so. Celebrities such as Lil Jon and Whoopi Goldberg have been involved with the movement due to their connection with the younger demographic and ability to communicate to them. They came out with a video titled "#TURNOUTFORWHAT" (a play on Lil Jon's hit song "Turn Down For What") which lists the reasons why they vote and why youth voters should too.
I encourage YOU to convince someone eligible to vote in the next election to register (if they have not done so already). The votes really do add up, so they should make theirs count.
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