Voting
By any measure, America's youngest adult generation -- Generation X-- are the least politically active of any generation. Statistic after statistic tell the story of a generation that turns out to vote less frequently than others; the numbers also show that young adults are voting less than they once had. One would think that after all the struggles that were waged in this nation of ours for equal voting opportunities, every eligible citizen would head out to the polls. This is certainly not the case. United States is a nation built upon the fundamental principle of democracy, or rule by the people. Why then, do we in this country take voting for granted? Why do we not realize that voting is the most direct way that we have in participating in politics? The U. S. continues to be at the bottom of the ranks when it comes to voter turnout of the voting-age population. In fact, only 52.6 percent of the voting age population heads out to the polls. However, the problem does not lie in the low turnout, it is that only two-thirds of the voting-age population is registered to vote. Though it is probably too late to change the minds of the elder and middle-aged citizens about registering to vote, it is still poss
"We cannot continue to set new records for non-participation, we cannot have succeeding generations dropping out of the political system, we cannot reduce the roll of those who are participating to those with narrow interests in policy outcomes and the ideologically zealous without doing long-term to both the political system and governance" Specifically, in 1972, the turnout rates among 18-24 year olds were 13 percentage points lower than the rates for the electorate as a whole; in 1996,tunrnout for 18-24 year olds were 22 percent lower. In short, each successive generation is less likely to vote. Younger adults are becoming disengaged from the political process at a quicker rate than older ones. And, there is little evidence to suggest that by doing nothing, this tide will turn, that nonvoters in their youth will become active voters at an older age. As Marion Just argues, those who become comfortable with voting at an early age continue to do so throughout life, making voting a habitual practice; on the other hand she writes, those who do not vote as young people continue to avoid going to the polls. Since 1972, as turnout has declined among the entire electorate, each election has seen a steady widening of the turnout gap between young adults and the overall electorate; 1992 was the only aberration and the dominant schools pf thought attribute this to some combination of three factors: a sour economy drove more people to the polls because of concern over the job markets, the Clinton campaign's efforts to reach out to the young people through appearances on Arsenio Hall, MTV and numerous colleges, and the presence of a very strong third party (Ross Perot) increased the overall interest in the election and the issues being discussed. 1. Just, Marion Cross Talk: Citizens, Candidates, and the Media in a Presidential
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1447
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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