By Marcelle Richards
Daily Bruin Contributor
Teenagers and twenty-somethings have long been branded
politically apathetic due to a history of low voter turnout, a
label that may be chipped away by the two million increase in this
year’s youth vote.
According to The United States Census Bureau, the registration
of 18 to 24-year-olds has fallen from 49.6 percent in 1972, the
year the right to vote extended to 18-year-olds, to 32.4 percent in
1996, when less than half of those registered made it to the
polls.
Many people in that age range see the right to vote as the
ticket to representation on the agenda.
“Voting is just the first step in civic
participation,” said Alyssa Scullion, a second-year political
science student who helped run the Youth Vote 2000 campaign on
campus. “It is essential that students’ voices are
heard throughout the next presidency and that students hold their
newly elected officials responsible for the platforms on which they
were elected.”
The low voter turnout trend seems typical to many experts, who
have observed parallel political situations across the globe.
“Youth have been associated with low voter turnout in all
developed democracies,” said Political Science Professor John
Zaller. “One of the things that advocates of young people
have said is that politicians don’t pay attention to their
issues, but it’s because young people don’t vote as
much as old people “¦ it’s a chicken and egg
problem.”
But Zaller said this year’s presidential race has
evidently grabbed the attention of many who were formerly among the
apathetic, and will likely foster a continued interest in
politics.
Campaigns such as Rock the Vote and Youth Vote 2000 have helped
strengthen youth voting rates.
“The members of generation X and Y consist of 45 percent
of our population,” said Tim Carey, Rock the Vote spokesman
and fourth-year political science student at UCLA. “We could
single-handedly elect the next president, don’t let the
candidates sit back and ignore you.”
Though he said he remains optimistic that a change is
foreseeable in the future, the question of whether the youth vote
will continue to rise is still in question.
“It depends on how actively young people go out to
vote,” he said. “After this election, no one can ever
say their vote doesn’t count.”
With many of America’s youth in a limbo between activism
and apathy, social activism must extend to political activism, some
say.
“Our generation contributes more community service than
any other generation, 70 percent,” Carey said. “We want
to make sure that transfers over to the political process.
Everything in our lives is political.
“If people were dropping out of school at the rate that
weren’t showing up to the polls, it would be declared a
national emergency,” he added.
Youth Vote 2000, a non-partisan national campaign similar to
Rock the Vote, has local chapters on college campuses. At UCLA,
Rock the vote volunteers registered more than 1,000 voters this
year.
“I was really impressed by the interest of UCLA students
in the elections and the voter turnout here on campus,”
Scullion said.
To some students, the political fever may be contagious.
“The reason I registered is because I was walking downtown
and a teenager asked me if I registered,” said Dan Jones, a
first-year English student. “I think teenagers getting other
people involved is effective.”
A poll conducted this year by the Harvard University Institute
of Politics surveying attitudes toward politics and public service
found that 74 percent of those surveyed believe politicians are
motivated by selfish reasons.
In addition, 64 percent said they have a lack of trust in the
federal government to do the right thing and 87 percent want more
practical information about politics before getting involved. More
than 90 percent of those surveyed felt more direct contact with the
candidates would stimulate more political activity among fellow
voters in their age bracket.
The appeal of Ralph Nader and other third party candidates
brought many young voters out to the polls who were cynical about
the two party system, Carey said.
According to Youth Vote 2000, Nader won
5 percent and Buchanan won 1 percent of the youth vote in this
year’s election.
“The prospect of a third party inspired a lot of
people,” he said. “Just the fact that a candidate was
making an earnest effort to reach out to people.”
Carey commended McCain for using the media influence of MTV and
Comedy Central to reach younger constituents. In 1992, President
Clinton used a similar tactic when he participated in MTV’s
Choose or Lose campaign.
“It reflected in the youth vote that year, and when
Clinton gave his acceptance speech he thanked them,” Carey
said. “It’s a give and take.”
While liberalism has been tied to younger voters in the past,
statistics show that conservatism may slowly be gaining lead among
the political affiliation of young voters. Youth Vote 2000
estimates that 38 percent of those in the 18 to 29 age group voted
in this year’s presidential election, with 48 percent for
Gore and 46 percent for Bush.
Carey said the narrow gap is due to a socially liberal and
fiscally conservative generation. Essentially, the youth vote
reflects the political philosophy of the libertarian party. The
national debt stands as a primary cause of this mind set, according
to Carey.
“We’re being held accountable for a ridiculous
amount of money incurred by the older generation,” he
said.
The desire to increase political representation encourages some
young voters to cast their ballot.
“I want to make sure every group has an equal voice,
“ Jones said. “Seeing how the whole (election) turned
out, I’m going to get involved somehow. I feel that if I
would have done something, it would have made a
difference.”