The Young Vote

[Houston, Texas December 10, 2019] How critical are young people’s vote in Texas? Voting is probably the most important civic opportunity given to citizens in the United States. Lately, a lot of attention has been focused on how many young people are casting ballots. In American elections, young people have stood out for their low levels of electoral participation.

Since 1996, the number of citizens eligible to vote has increased in every presidential election, as has the number of citizens who have reported voting. In 2012, 45% of votes were from ages 18-29 while 59.5 percent was between the ages of 30-44, 67.9 percent was 45-64, and 72 percent was 60 and older.

There are a few assumed reasons why the younger crowd doesn’t vote. Some are not asked or encouraged to vote by candidates, campaigns, family, friends, or neighbors. Some people are not taught how the government and elections work or feel like they don’t know enough to vote. The most famous reason is they’re not interested in politics and feel like voting does make a difference.

We need to make voting easier. Make it quicker and more accessible. Expanding practices like online voter registration and early voting could have major benefits to ballots.