Why do old people vote in droves and young people don't?

[Trad Bass]

I am 23 and I just don't get why so many of my peers- Liberal or Freeperish- don't vote and don't care.

It's depressing.

Trad

[NNN0LHI]

1. One does not get old being no fool n/t

.

[cthrumatrix]

28. They have plenty of time and focus on policy that affects their income.

[JohnKleeb]

2. good question trad I dont know really

[Trad Bass]

4. I was the only one I knew of at my comnmunity college to vote in 2002

that I knew of.

A Repuke took our area easily.

Trad

[HFishbine]

52. I wish I knew

In our last municipal election, the two precincts with the lowest turnout (8 voters, and 13 voters), were on the collge campuses. And these colleges have over 22,000 students combined.

[karlschneider]

3. The young people are working 2 jobs trying to survive. The oldies

(like me) are at loose ends, we can't get jobs and have lots of spare time.


Just kidding, I have a job...
;-)

[realFedUp]

5. Why don't a lot of them not read newspapers...

I don't know the answer. Maybe the computer and IMing takes
too much of their free time.

[quilp]

6. It is easier for the old to vote. They have the time during the day.

How can a single parent, or even most two parents with children get to vote? The voting usually starts around seven a.m. and close at nine p.m. on a working day. Many parents are both working ten hours, commuting two hours, and picking up their kids from day-care how can they vote?

[brook]

36. No offense here...

but I was a single, working mother of two for years- and I have never missed an election. Now I'm one of those *oldies with too much time on my hands* - NOT! I work. I vote. Everything in life,whether you're young or old requires assigning priorities.

[Retrograde]

37. feeble excuse in some states

I don't know about other states, but here in California anyone can get an absentee ballot by sending in the form on the back of the sample ballot (which is sent to every registered voter some weeks before the election). Sure, it costs 2 stamps - one for the request and one for the ballot - but as long as it's received before the election no problem. And you don't have to give a reason as to why you want an absentee ballot either. In some cases (age, disabilities) one can sign up to automatically get absentee ballots for all elections.

Polling places are open 7AM-8PM. Employers are required to provide up to 2 hours to make sure employees have the time to vote. So I don't buy this "It's just too hard" excuse.

linda

[Yupster]

46. Same in Texas

You can vote for weeks before the election at places like the local mall.

Young people still don't vote.

They don't vote because they don't want to vote.

When they start paying considerable taxes, when they have kids who go to school, when they buy a house and pay homeowner's insurance and property taxes, then they'll be more likely to vote.

[drdigi420]

7. Young people recognize that neither party cares

about them.

Both parties want to continue the war on drugs, which destroys lives, hurts our economy, causes crime, and wastes resources.

Young people see their friends going to jail for growing a plant and realize that both parties really don't give a shit how many lives the drug war destroys, because their money comes from industries that need the drug war to maintain profits.

A lot of people don't realize what a HUGE issue this is. Hopefully that will change.

[jagguy]

12. half right

none of the pols area interested in them. Both sides have demonstrated that pretty well. They see a bleak future trying to pay for boomers SS and Medicare.

There are some just too stupid the others are just too turned off.

[Withergyld]

14. I agree n/t

.

[brook]

38. If you don't poke them in the eye...

with a stick, they don't even know you exist. With all due respect, "they don't give a shit"is a cop-out. You elect as many fools by not voting as any voter does.

[Gman]

8. Why is income a predictor of probability of voting?

Why is education? Whoever solves the answer to these and is able to motivate the young, the poor and uneducated to vote will be the greatest consultant of all time.

[frylock]

9. greater appreciation of what's at stake.

[xray s]

10. Perhaps this sheds some light on the subject

The youth vote isn't just a problem in the US...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/vote2001/hi/english/newsid_1254000/1254995.stm

The editor of trendy style magazine Dazed & Confused, Rachel Newsome, issued the starkest warning to anyone trying to tempt the young into politics.

To cheers from the audience, she said: "Young people see themselves more as consumers than citizens."

They make a difference through the consumer choices they make, and perceive government to be "part of the problem".

It was a case of idealism being replaced by pragmatism, she said.

"Their sense of identity comes from trainers they wear on their feet.

"Young people do have a voice but it is outside the political system... not by fighting political system but by ignoring it."
(snip-end of reference)

And there you have it. We are seeing the net result of years of corporate brainwashing. Public citizen has been replaced by public consumer.

[MuseRider]

11. I think some of it

is the lack of being taught what it means to be a citizen in this country. I have fought this out with my boys. My oldest was a freshman at one of our state universities during the 2002 election. He put off registering there and I hounded him so much he drove an hour and a half to come home to vote. Still, he had a good government teacher and he learned a lot from a really active guy (Repub, blech). My youngest just took goverment in summer school and they sent him home with a CD and he finished it in 2 weeks, no class time, no discussion. THAT is what I think the main problem is. How can you learn about our government without discussion?

[FloridaPat]

13. We went through Vietnam. We had the 60's . We know how

bad the government really is. I don't understand why activism is dead too.

[smallprint]

17. youth activism is alive and well thank you very much

have you ever visited indymedia.org? there are millions of young people around the world organizing-- they just tend to be ignored by mainstream media

[nradisic]

15. Because.....

Older people know what happens when you don't vote! It pisses me off that so many Americans are so opinionated, yet they take their voting rights for granted by not voting. We have become way to complacent. True democracy calls for involvement from all. VOTE. If you take the right for granted you might end up loosing it!


Howard Dean 2004

[Kolesar]

16. 'Cuz there's no draft and no Vietnam

And no "silent majority" who quietly backs a losing cause out of ingrained and propagandized fear.

[diamond14]

31. the draft is coming....rummy is holding national guard for ONE

year deployments, IF they can do that, which doesn't sound optimistic...this weeks senate hearings on reconstruction of Iraq, every senator spoke of the lack of troops in their states for tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, airports, and national defense...shrub has OUR troops in 160 countries, and just sent troops into Liberia...shrub is anxious to send troops into North Korea and Iran...and they do not even have enough troops to rotate those in Iraq (some of whom have been there for over a year...Wolfowitz just testified of his disappointment that the Tennessee National Guard has been in Iraq for TWO years....

young people are busy at the shopping malls and the theatres...entertaining themselves, while shrub decides their fates, and they just don't care...we ALREADY have a draft, because the currently enlisted military CANNOT leave....so they are DRAFTED, which means involuntary service...

any young man who cannot see what is coming their way is simply naive..."old men make wars, young men fight wars"....

[CookieD]

18. Young people don't feel as "connected"

I suspect that young people don't feel as connected to their communities. Once you get a bit older, have children, etc., I think you feel more of a civic duty to cast your vote.

Of course, once you get older, what the hell else do you have going on! :7

... sorry Dad.

[Devils Advocate NZ]

19. The agism on this thread is pretty apparent, and ironically enough...

shows EXACTLY why youth have ignored electoral politics.

On this thread we have seen everything from 'too shallow' to 'too stupid' to 'too brainwashed', all coming from what appears to be older people.

Let me tell you why youth don't vote: Because they know that their opinions are given the same treatment. "You're too young to understand", "When you grow up, you'll know" etc etc.

They also know that their vote is essentially meaningless. What is the point of voting, if EVERY candidate thinks the same thing about youth and their opinions as the people on this thread do?

They are constantly told that voting will make a difference, but then they are told "we must make compromises". Which really means to them "well, that is a good idea, but when you grow up you'll understand..." Then they look at what is happening and know that "when they grow up" it will be too late.

So they turn to radicalism instead.

But, it seems, things are changing. Bush has awoken in them the idea that although all politicians ignore them, some are infinitely worse than others. Take a look at the article on this thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=107400&mesg_id=107400

Now tell me, do you still think young people don't vote because they're 'too shallow', 'too stupid' or 'too brainwashed'? I certainly don't. Perhaps the best description would be 'too idealistic'.

[brook]

43. "too idealistic"...

it's more than a charming hallmark of youth.

People don't wake up at 50 or 60 or 70 and suddenly decide it's important to participate in life. They're the same few who show up to deliver Meals on Wheels week after week, year after year - who *volunteer* - not because they have time on their hands -but because they have always understood the theory of that life is made better one small act at a time. That takes a non-passive idealism.

I keep the little sticker that says "I voted" on my computer - to remind me that it takes a lot more than posting here to effect changes.

[Yupster]

47. We just had a special congressional election in our district

It was to replace Combest.

About 15 guys ran.

One guy ran tv ads in a tank-top throwing a football saying how much younger he was than all the other candidates and how he would stand up for the young people who've been forgotten.

I was interested to see how his niche campaign would work in such a crowded field.

He got about 4 %.

[Devils Advocate NZ]

55. I do believe I said young people weren't stupid...

and that result proves it. They are not looking to vote for someone who seems to be suggesting that young people have different priorities, they are looking to vote for someone who will listen to their opinion on the same issues as everyone else thinks are important.

It's not the issues that young people say are being ignored, it's their opinion they say is being ignored.

They don't want some guy treating them like they are all jocks and cheerleaders, they want a candidate that realises that it is the young who have the most to lose, because they will have to live in this world far longer than anyone else.

Senior's don't really have to worry about environmental concerns, because by the time things get really bad, they will be dead, but the youth may have 60 years or more left to live in the mess those seniors left behind.

That is just an example of what I am talking about, but to many youth it is one of the most important issues of the day. How do seniors respond to these concerns, even many so-called liberal seniors? "They are just radicals who want to protest for the sake of rebellion. When they grow up they'll understand..."

[TennesseeWalker]

20. It takes time

to figure out what's really important in life.

[youngred]

22. Then how come most youngsters are liberals

despite the rise of young republicans

[TennesseeWalker]

32. Rebellion!

lol...and rebellious folks don't want anyone telling them what to do, even something like voting. Then they start seeing folks getting nice houses and making money, and then start trying to keep up with the Jones', then they get all pissed because someone has more than they do, become republican, then get layed off by corporate assholes, and then wake up and start voting their self interest.

[youngred]

21. Combination of things

I am 20, missed voting in 2000, by 4 months, and was quite irked by it.

I realize I am quite the exception to the rule but here is how many people my age look at politics.

"It's Boring"-they are used to Clinton, peace, prosperity, where voting for a candidate didn't really matter. We all thought the good days would never end and it would all be there because it was all we'd ever really known. It has none of the interesting aspects of the mass consumer/celebrity culture we've been fed since we were toddlers. The only time we pay attention to politics is when its at its worst (Sex Scandals). Too many of my peers are more interested in what is to them more immediate (is brittney a virgin, is there a sale at Abercrombie and Fitch, when does the next Nelly album come out) It's all been sold to them and given to them and they have the attention span of a fruit fly.

"They Don't Care" - Politicians don't court young people because they don't vote much, and young people don't vote much because politicians won't court them. Its a vicious cycle that the first rock the vote did well to try and fix, but since then there has been virtually nothing done to court them anymore.

[Resistance Is Futile]

23. Cynicism and disinterest

Educated youth see that politicans of all stripes rrefuse to address the critical issues of our time and are turned off political process because of it.

Brainwashed, stupid, or just plain ignorant youth don't vote because they're brainwashed, stupid or just plain ignorant.


As is true with all age brackets, the dumbest of the dumb vote Republican.

[robbedvoter]

24. Teevee says: "No difference" (faux left) vs bush is God

So, why bother? (It's not just TV, you know who you are)

[poskonig]

25. Older people have more to lose.

As one pays more in taxes, one tends to become concerned where the money is going. In addition, older people are concerned about health problems, their kids' education, their retirement future, etc.

If you are young and have no problems, there isn't going to be a lot of incentive to vote.

[whoYaCallinAlib]

26. You nailed it. Election outcomes effect seniors right here right now.

So may issues effect our seniors . . . social security, interest rates, prescription drugs, etc. They vote enthusiastically because the results of those votes effect them directly.

[youngred]

27. young and have no problems

you don't know the kids today at ALL!

and furthermore they have a whole lot riding on current politics, and they somewhat know it, but feel very helpless and disenfranchised

[poskonig]

29. I'm 24.

Ergo, I believe I have a pretty good idea.

[diamond14]

34. it's the YOUNG who will be drafted and loose their legs, arms,

eyes, hearing, and suffer many mental problems....I was totally amazed that so few young people stood up and protested...and I protested in DC in Jan, NY in Feb, Chicago and DC in March....and after being badly injured by National Park Police, I decided that I am too old to fight for young peoples lives...if the young won't stand up and fight for their own lives...why should I keep trying to help them...they don't care...they WANT to be drafted...the young people in America have done EVERYTHING to prove that all they want is to be drafted...they have encouraged it, they have been pro-war, they have sat in front of their TV's and failed to object to war...the few young that voted, actually split the vote and voted for the off third-party..guaranteeing the election of a radical like bush* and they seem to want to do it again...especially with dean...it's a replay of a bad movie, and bush WILL DRAFT THE YOUNG, expecially after he steals the WH with the help of the young...

'old men make wars, young men fight wars'

[TheDonkey]

30. Politics is geared towards older people.

If hot political issues were about driving, alcohol, drugs, and other things that effect young peoples lives other than medicare, perscription benefits, social security and what have you then the issue would change.

Want huge young voter turnout, bring up a referendum to lower the drinking age.

Older people have a lot more at stake as well as more free time to be politically active.

[sam sarrha]

33. when you are 54, poor , need health care or die, cant afford to retrain

for a new job if they outsource yours like they did mine and my wifes... you get a little panicy every time you see bush on the news. i am to old and hurt too bad all the time to live in a box in an alley...thats why i vote. im unemployed and have $35 in the bank.

[Octafish]

35. Old people know more.

Young people think they do.

[Yupster]

48. Funny Octafish

I saw something that said

When I was 16 my father was the biggest idiot in the world. Then I graduated college, got married, got a job, had a kid and visited my father. I was amazed at how much smarter he had gotten in the last 10 years.

[salmonhorse]

39. It may well have taken them a lifetime to understand...

...and another lifetime or so fighting regimes in which Democracy is even less vaunted than in the U.S. of Today; but they have come to realize that there is a power within a vote; their collective vote and so they do. Others will say that they have nothing to do between: shuffle board, bridge, and rice pudding but I don't see that as a whole truth.

But then it's all like...

You need to mobilize your 23yr old troops past the hype (and it is everywhere) and into a template of concerned citizenry. Remember the phrase Clinton uttered almost in passing after the fiasco of 2000? With that classic, hill-billy grin of all-knowing on his face?

"Let no one doubt any longer the power of just one vote..."

[diamond14]

40. many learned when our whole generation did Vietnam....blown

to pieces, killed, returned with no legs, or arms, or Max Cleland'd...or "Postal" and many destroyed either mentally or physically even if they did survive Vietnam...and we see it again now in Iraq, and Afganistan...young people whos lives are ruined...whole families affected...it didn't take a lifetime, for many it just took a few months...

and so far, Afganistan has gone on for almost TWO years, with the whole place in ruins...

we just need to bring our troops home...for Vietnam, Congress discussed the whole matter for years and years...the same discussion...oh, we must leave with honor...there must be a truce, communists will take over the whole wide world if we leave...


same old crap as today...and in the end, after every day, just like now, our soldiers were KILLED and MAIMED...and finally we left...in disgrace....

so we could leave both Iraq and Afganistan RIGHT now...it just takes a phone call from shrub...order OUR soldiers brought home...

[salmonhorse]

44. My generation "did" Vietnam ~

Although I have 5 grandchildren @ 52 I do not consider myself an "old person" as alluded to in the post, #1, above. When I see old folks jamming in & out of polling places I see the remnants of they who've stormed the beaches @ Normandy or the Pacific Theatre. While even at that rate a mere handful of years prior to my own birth. Though I agree with the rest of your post my sense is that it address' contemporaneous if not current events and therefore skirts matters regarding, if you will: "old people", as such; but yes, I do agree with you ~

:hi:

[diamond14]

45. there is hardly any of the WWII guys left....they have all died or

are very ill...my father fought in WWII, and he died recently at 80 years old, not really up for voting in the last few years of his life...he was the last of his WWII group that met every summer...all his friends left before he did....

"old people" certainly are us...and I am 53....we are no longer eligible for the draft...and bush* is just a few years old, maybe 58? and cheney looks really old, but he is about the same age as shrub, only a dead man walking...cheney looks like he could drop any second...I don't think he has followed his doctor's advice for heart patients, like LOSE WEIGHT....

so, "old men make wars...young men fight wars"...

[salmonhorse]

50. Do you vote?

Because I do while it is I have a 36yr old girlfriend who has a 100+ plus year old soul. She votes too by the way. Your concept of what is "old" is only middle aged at best. Post #1-Guy is 23 and they are the ones with the problems in my opinion. Although the world is fucked up; seemingly no great issue for them to rally behind. Not much to concentrate on but wave after wave of cookie cutter, used car salesman, young re-publican drones-on-campus spewing hate radio crap in a radial, 360deg fashion-of-the-day. That is the hype to which I refer.

You seem to be suggesting that the elderly vote when the DNC scoops them up in an old people bus and posits them at a polling place just before they drop them off at 'the home' for rice pudding. in Election - 2004', it was put forth as an affirmative defense; or offense depending, that the elderly of Florida didn't undetstand the butterfly ballot, or got shaky with their hand on the way down to the pin-slots and slipped one or two into the wrong vote.

But they were there. Excerising what they thought to be their citizenry (or indeed what someone told them it should be: AARP, etc). Ailments that allowed them to do so and foibles one and all They Vote!!

And that is a big deal in Democracy ~

As For Cheney? Pursuit of The Ring makes all tweakers like Golem and Cheney look older than they really are. And that is not merely an opinion of mine.

[Yupster]

49. Do you really think we should just leave Iraq right now?

There would be religious civil war -- a bloodbath -- maybe a million or more killed. Either the aSunnis or the Shi-ites will be destroyed.

Don't you think we have any responsibility to put things in some kind of order before we just up and leave?

[jbm]

41. I think...

one of the reasons just has to do with the human element. People wake up in the morning and think,"what do I need to do today?" and as they get older they have more time and less stuff to do(not in every case,I realize),but the need for the list continues. Younger people fill their list up with work and school and kids...the older group has room on theirs to vote. I'm hoping this election voting will be a priority on everyones list.

[leftyandproud]

42. social security *NT*

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

51. Old people are smart, and young people are stupid

the truth hurts

[StandWatie]

53. vote for what?

When I talk to people in their twenties (I'm 29) it's not that they don't care about issues, it's that the issues they care about aren't addressed by democrats or republicans.

Clinton promised free education (I don't know what the hell happened to that, I know the Pell Grant got a boost) and young people voted in droves. Why would someone in their twenties come out and vote in an election like '02 where the attack on the republicans seemed to be centered around social security, medicaid and prescription drug benefit?

[HFishbine]

54. Campus Policies

What are the policies for campaigning on college campuses around the nation? Do candidates have the opportunity to bring their message to young voters?

I ask because I'm aware that a large university in my city requires that candidates be sponsred by a recognized campus organization before a candidate can campaign on university grounds. And even then, the time must be approved by the university and the activity will be restricted to the "free speech" zone (conveniently located in a parking lot).

[AntiLempa]

56. Because we are ignored.

I'm 22, an activist, and I vote.
The reason that people my age don't vote is because we are ignored. When I talk politics with "older folks" I am labeled an idealistic radical.

How radical is wanting to breathe in 40 years? How radical is wanting to be able to find a job in 4 years? How radical is wanting to eat? How radical is wanting health care? How radical is wanting to be treated like a normal person and not an idealistic radical?

The youth are involved, but we are ignored. I work with student environmental groups throughout the state of Illinois, and they are making things happen. Two campuses have recenlty convinced the administration to use clean energy. Another group is working to serve Fair Trade Coffee exclusively on campus. And these movements aren't limited to Illinois. Unfortuantely our so called leaders IGNORE us and the issues that are important to us. Clinton signed NAFTA (an atrocity for so many reasons). Daschle thought it would be a grand idea to pass last years energy bill. Lieberman and Gephardt think that imperialism is a great idea.

Do I have to mention how despicable the Republicans are?

We are also ignored by the candidates. When the elections come around, the Democrats and Republicans routinely ignore my college (and it is a state school). The Greens were there, the Libertarians were there, but the Democrats and Republicans were nowhere to be found. When I tried to volunteer for the Democrats, I was told that they would contact me. . .I am still waiting and that was two years ago.

"Shut up, stay in your place, and when you get old and wise you can participate" seems to be the message.

If you want the youth vote, let them know. Why do you think that the Green Party Rallies attracted so many young people? It's not because we worship Nader like a god or because we are stupid and were duped. The Greens speak to issues that are important to us. Social Security and Medicare are important issues, but so are the environment, imperialism, economic policies that turn us into slaves, and so many other issues that make us radicals.

So believe that young people don't vote because we are stupid or that we only care about drinking. That attitude will contnue to drive us away from electoral politics.