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Community Corner

It's Election Day! Will Young People Turn Out as They Did in 2008?

Young voters helped take Barack Obama to the White House. Are they voting this year? A number of younger voters weigh in on their plans.

Today is Election Day. If predictions are right, this year far fewer young people will cast ballots than in 2008, when that demographic turned out in huge numbers, helping propel Barack Obama to victory and the White House.

But what about this year? Will young people cast ballots (leaving alone the question of whether they made phone calls or knocked on doors) this time around? 

Here are the comments of a number of people who are now college juniors. They were between 17 and 19 years old two years ago, most of an age to have been casting their first presidential ballots.

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Are they as involved this year?

Milo Ellis: "I voted in 2008 and am definitely voting on Tuesday. I think that students don't see this election as being as critical as the presidential election, but Congress obviously has a lot of responsibility, and I want to make sure that people who represent me are in Congress."

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Dena Hong: "I didn't vote in 2008 because I wasn't 18 yet, but I did vote for this November's election. I registered as an absentee voter and mailed my ballot in. As important as the presidential election is, and as sad as I am that I didn't get to be a part of it in 2008, I think all of the elections are important. For me, keeping (Bill) Foster as our congressman is very important ... and it affects life in Geneva more than the president does.

"Even the local elections that I don't know as much about are important. I looked up all of the candidates to see how they felt about different issues and then made my decision. It was important to me to take the time to do that, because being an informed, active citizen is something everyone should take the time to do."

Margaret Albright voted in 2008. "Hopefully my American political systems teacher will give me an excused absence so I can drive back to Geneva and vote on Tuesday," she said.

Not keeping up with candidates and positions is preventing many a young person from voting, it turns out.

Colleen Stanfa, who voted in '08, said she's not voting this year because she's not home in Geneva and "I haven't been following the election, so I don't feel informed."  

Brian Tompkinson didn't vote two years ago. Why? "I wasn't well-enough informed, and I'm not voting on Tuesday for the same reason. My apathy toward politics runs deep."

Lauren Saunders: 'I voted in the 2008 election, but I am not voting in this one because I didn't think to get my absentee ballot in time. I would rather vote in Illinois than in Minnesota. I might have decided to vote in Minnesota if I was more informed about the candidates."

Nico Cassasanto voted two years ago and returned his absentee ballot for today's election last week. The Yale student said, "I'd much rather vote for Illinois than Connecticut because Illinois is in dire straits politically right now (at least more so than Connecticut.)"

Cassasanto believes strongly that voting is a civic duty and that being an informed voter is, as well. Becoming informed doesn't "happen magically," he said. "With campaign commercials being either negative or exaggerative or both, we as citizens have to take it upon ourselves to inform ourselves. This means doing research to determine which candidates best represent you and what you want."

When he received his ballot, he said, he didn't know much about many of the candidates beyond the big names and even for those races, felt he needed more information. So he went online "and that helped me make informed decisions.

"I believe a non-vote is better than an ill-informed vote. But it is crucial, especially in this specific election, to vote. We are on the brink of what could be a repeat of the 1994 midterm elections, the elections that replaced Clinton's Democrat-dominated House with a Republican majority. Regardless of where you stand, there are going to be definite repercussions stemming from the outcome of these midterms," he said. 

Cassasanto's father is a state of Illinois employee, so the state's financial predicament and "the impacts of various potential reform will definitely hit home. So I'm voting not only for what is best for Illinois to get out of the deep hole into which it has dug itself, but also to make sure my dad's employment, benefits, and retirement aren't jeopardized."

It's Election Day. It's Decision Day. I agree strongly with Nico that it's better not to vote than to vote on a superficial basis. But there's still time to get up to speed on at least a race or two.

It's your chance to let your voice be heard—so go vote!

Torie Olson contributed instrumentally to this report.

 

 

 



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