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Why Do Young Americans Participate In Voting?

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Only “21.5% of young people, ages 18-29, voted in the 2014 midterm elections” according to
Circle. Although the percentage of young Americans participating in voting has always been low, in the past few years their participation in civic duty has significantly dropped. This issue is crucial to my generation because voters determine the future of our country.

One of the main causes of this issue is that unfortunately, many young Americans are loosing trust in the government and do not feel that it is effective. “But,” Hamilton Winters, a sophomore at University of Louisiana points out for The News Star, “young Americans have no right to complain about the government if they do not participate in the process that sends people to office to act on …show more content…
Emily Greenhouse at
Bloomberg Politics confirms, “Seven percent said that their vote doesn’t make a difference”.
Another cause is the fact that many do not like the choices of candidates. Many also use the excuse that they are too busy and others conclude they are simply not interested.

As a result of distrusting the government and a myriad of other reasons a large percentage of young Americans do not vote. Not voting then results in these same people complaining about various issues such as high taxes and gas prices, foreign policies and gun control. Older citizens who voted then become agitated with the younger community for not voting; the young
Americans get blamed for the political issues and a division between generations begins to arise.

Since so many eligible voters have declared that they don’t understand politics, I believe it would be a proactive movement to start teaching the political system, basic policies, information and terminology in high schools and/or at home. If young Americans became equipped with more information about politics before voting season, they would be more likely to vote.

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