Some people don’t believe young people have enough initiative to rock a chair, much less Rock The Vote.
Two hundred million people in the United States are eligible to vote. However, according to Cal Jillson, chairperson of the political science division, voter turnout is lower in the United States than in virtually any other advanced industrial democracy in the world.
Although nearly 100 percent of citizens over 18 are now eligible to vote, only about half of those eligible regularly vote – a trend that continued for most of the last century, despite advances made in who can vote and simplifications of the voting process.
A demographic that continues to fall is that of young voters. In 1972, 49 percent of citizens 18 to 24 voted in the national election. In 1996, only about 32 percent bothered to show up at the polls.
Such voter apathy has inspired candidates, political parties and non-partisan organizations to action in order to make young people aware of the importance of voting. Groups such as Rock The Vote, founded by members of the recording industry, have toured the United States, trying to encourage registration among young voters with rock groups and panel discussions. When the group visited SMU in 2000, its goal was to register 500 new voters, and encourage participation from at least half the campus. It was met with such a small turnout that Mary Ellen Hooper, one of the MTV personalities headlining the event, said, “What’s your mascot at SMU – apathy?”
Political science major Asad Rahman said that Rock the Vote was just an SMU example of student apathy, as the program succeeded at many other universities.
“The university also holds Tate lectures on serious political issues, which don’t seem to generate much student commentary,” Rahman said.
The reason young people have often been attributed to the fact that they don’t feel engaged by the issues. Rahman feels that young people, just like other voters, are turned off by political mudslinging.
“It turns off students when they find out that people they intend to support engage in that sort of thing,” Rahman said. “The mudslinging raises awareness – people might say, hey, I find that ad kind of humorous – but it also ticks people off.”
Turnout is always likely to be greater if a high office is at stake, if the candidates are well-known or if a big issue is part of the election.
“Students in general only care about things that affect them personally,” Rahman said. “The issues have to hit close to home, like Sept. 11. Students do care, they just need something to be passionate about.”
An example of issues affecting young people can be seen in how turnout is affected by times of war. While rates have fallen steadily for the past 30 years, sharp increases occurred during 1972 and 1992.
Jillson believes that “simplifying the voter registration process is the key to increasing voter turnout.” The National Voter Registration Act, passed in 1993, significantly simplified voter registration by allowing Americans to register at the same time they perform tasks such as getting their drivers licenses – something which would ostensibly be helpful in getting teenagers to vote.
Also, according to Jillson, education in every level of income and occupation means greater voter turnout. Education reduces the complexity of elections, makes citizens able to anticipate probable results and creates confidence that one has the ability to influence government.
It would seem that young people at an educational institution such as SMU would be most compelled to vote. Rahman said, however, that education isn’t something that comes simply from taking a university level class.
“Education is so broad a word,” he said. “You can take a Meadows theater class, but not learn anything about political issues. There are good opportunities for political education both inside and outside educational institutions. Any initiative is good, because voting is something we should do, not just something we can do.”
