After record-high participation in the 2008 general election, the Millennials have apparently settled back into a business-as-usual pattern of dismal voter turnout for the midterm election. I’ve read lots of commentary about this today, with most authors concluding that young people didn’t turn out because politicians didn’t engage them enough in this year’s campaigns. Some speculated that since most young people are Democrats, and the current candidates didn’t excite them, they just didn’t turn out. While others said that—of course—it was the fault of the Tea Party and its lack of diversity that scared students away from the polls. I guess if you can’t blame it on Bush, then it must be the fault of the Tea Party, which, by the way, isn’t a party.
I would imagine that I could find young people who would fall into each of those categories, but I doubt that any of those explanations account for the high degree of young-voter apathy that we saw this week. Maybe the problem is that young people—and especially those who are college students—feel geographically adrift and aren’t really sure which state or district to call their own if their family home is in one state and their dormitory or apartment is in another. Some young people might not even know who is running for election, especially if their college isn’t within radio or television range of their voting precinct.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Where Did All the Young People Go? - Brainstorm - The Chronicle of Higher Education
Author: Diane Auer Jones
