Why Don't Young People Vote?

According to figures from the Michigan Secretary of State, statewide turnout in the August 3 primary election was 22.9% or approximately 1.7 million of registered voters. While Terry Lynn Land commented on her website that she expects substantially greater numbers in the November general election, the primary figures sound an all too familiar chord: Michigan voter participation is terrible.

Although the SOS doesn't break down the numbers demographically, it's no secret that young people ages 18 - 25 represent the the most apathetic group of voters. This is especially ironic considering that the young people of the sixties and early seventies were the strongest proponents of the twenty sixth amendment (1972), which mandated that states' minimum voting age be no higher than eighteen.

So why the dismal turnout? Political scientist Eric Plutzer at Pennsylvania State University theorizes that our more transient society has introduced changes into our social fabric that work against regular voting.

"Most young citizens aged eighteen to thirty fall into the unregistered group." Using data from several dozen nationwide voting surveys, Plutzer has tried to figure out why some young adults mature into habitual voters, others become periodic voters, and some never develop the voting habit at all.

"Young Americans may relocate for college, their first job, or their first mature love interest," Plutzer notes. "When young people move into an apartment, they make sure they have electricity, phone and internet service, and cable. Registering to vote isn't at the top of their to-do list.

So what is the answer? perhaps a radical change in how our elections are administered; such as holding them on a Sunday, or perhaps over several days in oder to be more accomodating to today's hectic lifestyles. Another possibility is to harness new technologies (including voting via the internet, with proper security precautions) which may enable the eighteenth century idea of democracy to be executed in out twnty first century world.