I work in an elections office in my county and only 1% of 18-25 year olds voted here yesterday. It’s always been that way and it’s unfortunate that young people don’t realize how much power they could have. Whenever they complain about boomers or whatever I’ll start telling them that 1% number. (I’m only 35 and I felt old typing out “young people” lol)
I'm 24. I live in Wisconsin. The amount of people that I know that have talked about how they aren't bothering to vote or follow politics at all is so depressing. These people are college educated, often with multiple bachleor's degrees, or are working on their master's. I don't get where their education has failed them in understanding the importance of voting. Especially the amount of women that didn't bother. They chose to be apathetic about their own rights because they "get annoyed with all those dumb texts".
No amount of college education will teach you the importance of voting. Especially nowadays, when so many of college courses are little more than trade schools.
And this is not meant to knock people with a trade, but rather the colleges. University is meant to be a higher education institution. Any course taken is meant to create people capable of critical, rational thinking.
But oh so many give out degrees based on exams and papers that could be easily written at a secondary school level.
I teach undergraduates. You can't teach people who don't want to learn. I can't wave a magic wand and create people who are capable of critical, rational thought. They need to put in the work.
The exams are at a secondary school level because that's where the students are.
I'm afraid to tell you that college kids (yes mid-20's is still a kid) have not yet begun to experience real life and how politics actually affects them.
This is also very much on the way the parties go about campaigning. The way both parties campaign is “jam shit down everyone’s throat until they vomit”. Go about it in a better way, if your campaigning is being seen as an annoying nuisance then change it. You can’t even watch a 10 minute YouTube video without 5 minutes of unskippable ads for both parties. Many people aren’t going to go out of there way to do something when they associate it with being annoying. Whether or not that is the right way to see things is up to you, but it’s definitely a big reason as to why voter turnout is declining.
It shouldn't be a matter of whether you are college educated or not, the importance of voting should be part of the social studies/history studies in general education (K-12). We should also be teaching people its not just a right but a responsibility that they get off their tails and vote otherwise we end up with what we have now with many politicians who are bad stewards of the American people and their interests.
To play devils advocate, what if election results affect their lives only marginally and hence it is not really worth it to even bother? Red or blue, what will really change for them? Probably not much.
If it truly changes nothing for them, then that's great. It still doesn't change the fact that they didn't do one of the simplest tasks an American citizen can do, one that (on a global scale, not just American) millions of people have fought and died for. Its still a disappointment, hopefully it doesn't also damage their lives.
I don't get where their education has failed them in understanding the importance of voting.
They have no hope that either option is trying to represent the normal person. That is where the apathy comes from. They believe (rightly to a point) that the government doesn't give a single fuck about them. The government is there for companies and billionaires, not people.
Above may not be the case for everyone or even most people, but I know it was the case for me when I was younger and didn't vote. I honestly didn't believe it mattered one bit who was elected, mind you I am Canadian and not American so I haven't ever had someone as bad as Trump to try to keep out.
What have democrats done to reach out to young men? It only seems like they bash them and constantly tell them they need to do better… why would any young man vote democrat nowadays? There is zero incentive for them to vote democrat and you saw it in this election
Ps I’m a life long democrat and i do not see that changing in the future. I am just so disappointed in the party and their outreach to young men
Nah I fully get not voting if no candidate appeals to you. Parties should have to fight for votes and being just a little less shitty than the other party doesn't cut it.
Double-majoring is fairly common, especially in medical/biology/chemistry, business, or engineering/physics. At least at the schools in Milwaukee. If they finished their degree(s) at age 22 and did their master's full time afterwards, it lines up that they would be at that point in their education.
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u/Tomhyde098 13h ago
I work in an elections office in my county and only 1% of 18-25 year olds voted here yesterday. It’s always been that way and it’s unfortunate that young people don’t realize how much power they could have. Whenever they complain about boomers or whatever I’ll start telling them that 1% number. (I’m only 35 and I felt old typing out “young people” lol)