Identifying the specific reason why Millennials have the lowest voting turning out rate than any other generation in history has been a question political analyst have been trying to determine for years. Millennials between 18 and 29 years old are approximately 550 million, yet they fail to out number the older generations during elections (Matta and Martin 1). Now, for the upcoming 2016 Presidential Election, it will be the first time the Millennial eligibility voting population will equal that of Baby Boomers. Investigating the reason for the absence of Millennials at the voting polls during the last decade of elections is important because if organized they are capable of having a major influence in shaping the government. When investigating …show more content…
For example, the 1990 to 1991 economic recession encouraged a larger population of younger Generation Xer’s to vote during the 1992 Presidential election. The number of votes rising from 102,224 votes in 1988 to 113,866 votes in 1992. Unfortunately, the dissatisfaction in the government developed and the number of young voters dropped for the 1996 election once again (Kirby and Kawashima). The pattern is similar with the Millennial generation. The sour political atmosphere changed with the terrorist attack on September 11. “September 11 seemed to make issues debated in Congress suddenly seem relevant and youth participation began to climb” (Ruggeri). This pattern in history revealed that younger voters tend to become more involved with politics when an event has negatively effects them. Sudden events in history also help to mature many young voters, demonstrating the importance of government and encouraging voters to become more informed about different political campaign goals and …show more content…
It is important to note a Millennials’ attitude because it ultimately encourage or discourage behavior. According to a study examining the general impression of the “subject of politics” to college students at different campuses, Millennials were asked “what words or thoughts come to mind when you hear the word politics?” (Matto and Martin 6). Results showed that a vast majority of the students held a negative view of politics responding with “lies”, “corruption”, or “putting on a face, acting.” The resulting strong dislike towards politics is because of their lack of trust in the political process. Millennials have grown frustrated with the current political system because what they have currently witnessed constant incivility without producing any results. They have grown up in time were they are inheriting vast college debt, lack of job availability, and constant government gridlocks; and when government ignores these issues it further instigates a Millennials belief that no change will come from