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| Romney or Obama? 7/11 is asking college students and other visitors to take partisan sides in their drink choices. |
With
the deadline for registering to vote fast approaching, the role of the
college-age youth vote in the election process is coming under increased
scrutiny.
During
the 2008 presidential election, the youth came out to vote, driven by Barack
Obama’s powerful social media campaigns and the influence of youth-oriented
organizations such as Rock the Vote. Despite this, young voters still only made
up about 19 percent of the electorate.
And, according to a recent Pew Center study on
voter enthusiasm, this year, the amount of voters age 18-29 who say they’re
“more interested in the election than four years ago” has dropped 17 points,
and those who are “following the election very closely” have dropped 12 points
from 2008. Now, facing a stagnant job market and a surplus of student loans,
many young people seem to be turned off by politics altogether.
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| College students who regularly read the news are more well-informed, and thus more likely to vote, than their non-news savvy peers. |
According
to Lindsey Lupo, Point Loma Nazarene University professor of political science, although the youth vote
increased in 2008, voter turnout among college-age students has consistently
been low.
“Since
1972 and the passage of the 26th Amendment, there has been an
average 17-point gap between 18-24-year-olds and those 25 years and older,”
Lupo said.
But,
Lupo added, voter turnout is not the only criterion with which to measure
political participation.
“Youth
are highly engaged in direct action, protests and volunteerism, for example,”
she said. “To measure political participation by voting along is not a full
picture of the election process. The college question is important; young
people with college experience are twice as likely to vote than those without.”
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| College across the nation are trying to get the word out about the importance of voting. |
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