Youth Vote 2012: Where Things Stand
July 4, 2012
by Max Gabovitch, 19, and Leeann Sausser, 18 Y-Press
INDIANAPOLIS, IN— According to Asher Heimermann, 18, there is no age limit in participating in politics or community service.”
However,Asher doesn’t just tell young people to get involved with politics. He shows them.
In 2008, Y-Press talked with more than 30 politically active young people around the country, and Asher was one of them. At 14, he was one of the youngest and most involved activists — he hosted a weekly radio show in his hometown of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and wrote a political blog with tens of thousands of visitors.
Since then, Asher has expanded his political involvement. A recent high school graduate, he was on the ballot in January for the city’s mayoral recall primary election. Although he came in last among the eight candidates, he wasn’t ready to give up. Just a few days after his defeat, he began his campaign for a seat in the Wisconsin State Assembly, saying that he wanted to be “the voice for the voiceless,” though that bid ended in April.
Despite his successes and setbacks, Asher reiterated his commitment to the political process. However, he seems to be an exception. In 2008, youth involvement played a major role in presidential election campaigns. That activism has yet to be seen in 2012.
A changed landscape
Much has happened in the interim. The recession that was just beginning in 2008 has lingered, damaging job prospects, ham-stringing families and straining government resources. The birth of movements such as the TeaParty and Occupy reflect Americans’ frustrations with this new reality. And in a Y-Press survey of hundreds of young people from around the country, economic issues were identified as the top concern of 2012. Education matters ranked second.
In 2008, President Obama easily took the youth vote, with 66 percent of voters under 30 choosing him over Republican nominee John McCain, according to the Pew Research Center. Similarly, a report by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tuft’s University found that 48.5 percent of citizens ages 18-24 voted in 2008, the highest percentage since 1992.
A recent NBC/Wall Street Journal Poll shows that 55 percent of young people prefer the President compared to 35 percent for Republican Mitt Romney. However, the poll also shows a large decrease in enthusiasm among 18- to 34-year-olds. In 2008, 63 percent of people in that age group said they had a big interest in the election. That figure is now at 45 percent.
In 2008, there was a strong call for young people to register to vote. Youth-focused organizations, such as MTV, offered convenient opportunities for young people to register, setting up booths at concerts and other venues that attract youth. Such efforts are missing this year.
Without the encouragement, and preoccupied with more pressing concerns, young people may be disinclined to make the effort to involve themselves in the election process. According to Abby Kiesa of CIRCLE, an organization that tracks the political and civic behavior of youth, youth who register at 18 or younger are much more likely to cast a ballot on Election Day.
Not a lot of youth have turned out so far for the GOP primaries, Kiesa said – generally 7 percent or less of those eligible to vote. However, she cautioned: “We have to be careful interpreting that because it doesn’t necessarily mean that shows low youth enthusiasm, because it could show low Republican-leaning youth enthusiasm. If a young person doesn’t necessarily agree with the Republican candidates, they’re not going to vote in a Republican primary.”
Indeed, CIRCLE research has shown that young voters were more likely to vote Democratic in several of the most recent elections. In addition, the lack of a field of candidates for the Democratic nomination may discourage activism.
New avenues for action
But several new avenues for activism have emerged since 2008. The 2008-09 recession and bank bailout gave birth to the Tea Party movement, which called for a reduction in the American government and its entitlement programs. Co-opting Obama’s campaign slogan of “Change,” the Tea Party is a conservative movement devoted to changing big-spending government.
The Occupy movement followed about two-and-a-half years later, this time reflecting a progressive, alternative vision for the government, with a focus on economic parity and social justice. Occupy protests, almost entirely youth-driven, quickly spread across the nation though appear to be largely dormant right now.
According to Deana Rohlinger, an associate professor at Florida State University who specializes in the study of social movements, Occupy has left its mark on the country, particularly in its methodology and its ability to harness the power of technology to spread the word. “The youth are very good about using new technology to say what they’re doing and what they want,” Rohlinger said.
In fact, Occupy changed what counts as activism. “Because of the Internet, everyone can get involved, and they can be involved even if they can’t be at a protest, or even if they can’t be at an Occupy camp,” Rohlinger said.
Technology actually allows for more political participation, or “click activism,” according to Mary Gray, an associate professor at Indiana University whose fields of study include new media and social movements.
“I think it’s really something to watch, that we see more people engaging in political dialogue,” she said. “That is what’s been missing for some time, the idea that your average person is going to feel that their voice matters.”
The innovative use of technology by the presidential campaigns was a big part of the rise in youth involvement in 2008. It seems that youth are still innovating. Y-Press will continue to examine the involvement of young people in the 2012 campaigns. It’s clear that there may be more activity than meets the eye.
To get a youth perspective on the 2012 Presidential Elections, WKCD has teamed up with the youth-led news bureau, Y-Press, based in Indianapolis. Originally part of the Children’s Express, Y-Press has nurtured young journalists for more than 20 years. Their stories and articles—on local, national, and global topics—appear every other week in the Indianapolis Star. The Y-Press web site is updated regularly and encourages external submissions and comments about youth-written stories and reviews.
Here, Y-Press reporters will be posting: stories about the campaign, the candidates, and youth perspectives on the political process profiles and interviews with young political activists results from surveys they’ve created to gather information from youth nationwide about the candidates and the issues most important to young people reports from the floor at both of this summer’s national conventions. Check back often to keep up with this special “youth beat” on Election 2012.
