Only One in Three Young People Say They're Certain to Vote in Midterms

[DonViejo]

NEWS PROVIDED BY
PRRI/The Atlantic
07:00 ET

WASHINGTON, Oct. 11, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- A new PRRI/The Atlantic survey on civic engagement finds stark gaps within different age groups' attitudes toward the utility of voting and other methods of civic engagement. The survey shows little evidence that younger Americans will turn out at historic rates in the upcoming midterms.

Low Rates of Voter Participation from Young Americans
Just 35 percent of young Americans (ages 18-29), compared to 81 percent of seniors (ages 65+) and 55 percent of all Americans, say they are absolutely certain to vote in the November elections.

"Just 20 percent of young Americans made it to the polls in the last midterm election, and we're seeing some cynicism among young people about the efficacy of voting as a means of social change," noted PRRI CEO Robert P. Jones. "But if younger voters turn out even at modest rates, it could tilt the scales significantly in favor of Democratic candidates, who they support over Republican candidates by a margin of 61 percent to 35 percent."

The Link Between Civic Engagement and Social Change
Young Americans are less likely than seniors to say voting regularly in elections is the most effective way to create change (50 percent vs. 78 percent).

Young Americans are more likely than seniors to believe that volunteering for a group or cause (19 percent vs. 4 percent) or being active online (9 percent vs. 1 percent) are the best way to create change.

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https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/only-one-in-three-young-people-say-theyre-certain-to-vote-in-midterms-300729158.html

[Funtatlaguy]

1. Any ideas on how to increase that number? 🤔 thinking caps on, guys.

[Trumpocalypse]

6. A mandatory military draft

for everyone 18-25 years old. That's what worked in the 60s.

[SHRED]

2. Tragic

I've voted BLUE since I was 18 years old for 43 years.

What is so damn difficult about this?

[bdamomma]

7. they will care

if their liberties are taken away from them.

[bearsfootball516]

3. I don't think young people (18-29) will ever vote at a high rate. Historically, they never have.

I will say though, that 35 percent (2018) compared to 20 percent (2014) is nearly double. That's huge.

[genxlib]

4. I would flip the question

Why do you let old people decide what's best for you?

[llmart]

5. For one thing they could make it easier for college students to vote.

Some states make it difficult for a student living on campus to vote because the address on their driver's license is different from where they live. College students are so busy they don't have time to research where to vote or how to vote or to apply for an absentee ballot, etc. etc. That's why everyone in every state should be allowed to vote by mail without requesting an absentee ballot and without having to state why they need an absentee ballot.

This country does everything they can to make voting more difficult for people and it doesn't have to be that way.

[bearsfootball516]

8. I was a college student not long ago, and I voted absentee. But it's unnecessarily difficult.

You have to find the correct form online and find a place to print it. Then fill it out, go buy an envelope, go buy a stamp, and send it. Then wait to get your ballot back, fill it out, and send it back. For most people, that's easy. But for a college student who is juggling a million things and has never voted absentee before, it's not.

Most students who are in college now were born between 1996-2000, so they grew up in the email age. I'm willing to bet a good portion of them have never even addressed an envelope, bought a stamp or sent a letter through the mail, which makes the entire process really foreign to them. They grew up in a time when physical mail is dying and email/instant messenger/texting was just how you communicated.

[SHRED]

10. I agree however...

...No excuses.

Young people know how to get complicated issues done via internet research.
They literally have information at their finger tips.
Something my generation never had.

[rownesheck]

9. Drop the age restriction

on being president to 25. That might help during presidential years. Finally, they could see someone who's more their age leading the country.

[maxrandb]

11. Well, that's better than the 1 in 10 that normally bother to vote

[hedda_foil]

12. If 20% voted in last midterms and 35% plan to vote in this one, that's almost double the number.