The young and the restless

18 to 25 year-olds and their vote

By KIMBERLY M. WEYANDT

LOCH SHELDRAKE, NY — The streets are lined with political signs, candidates make daily appearances during commercial breaks, and from the mouths of straight-faced celebrities like 50-Cent and Jennifer Aniston, seep the words “Vote, vote, vote.”

MTV hits the national campaign trail in search of 30 million new voters, and Monticello invites local youths to rock out at the first annual VOTE Jam in exchange for their voting registration.

This year, a lot has been done to encourage people between the ages of 18 and 25 to vote. And while the importance of voting is getting across, many young people continue to feel frustrated and confused.

I remember when I turned 18, just in time for the 2000 presidential election. I knew how important voting was, and I was excited, knowing that my opinion counted from then on.

But with that excitement came a great fear. I didn’t feel as if I knew enough to make an informed decision.

So I did my homework. I read the newspaper, watched the debates and attempted to make sense of the political commercials on television. But the more I learned, the more confused I became. And so it was with hesitation that I cast my vote on Election Day and waited in anticipation as ballots were counted, and recounted.

Now, four years later, I still find the debates confusing and the decisions difficult, and as a 22-year-old, I still have questions.

I packed up my queries and sought the opinions of my peers and an explanation from Dr. Thomas Lambert, professor of sociology at Sullivan County Community College.

Who are the 18-to-25 year olds voting for and why? Are they voting?

Mark Hoover, 21, likes Kerry. “I don’t think Bush has done his job very well. I think it’s time for a change,” he said.

James Jeanty, 18, thinks Kerry looks more “president-like.”

Adam Kern, 23, likes Kerry because “it’s nice seeing someone who can articulate the language.”

Joylene, 18, of Liberty, likes Bush because “he’s used to it and can learn from his mistakes.” She is most concerned about abortion and gay marriage. But despite her opinions, she said, “I will vote for whomever my parents vote for.”

Darcie O’Connor, 19, likes Kerry’s views but does not plan on voting. She said, “I don’t need the stress. I do think voting has an impact, but it doesn’t seem like it in the end.”

Of 13 people interviewed, two will not be voting, one likes Bush, eight like Kerry, one prefers Libertarian candidate Michael Badnarik and one is undecided.

In 2000, a large majority of my friends were not planning on voting. I asked Dr. Lambert his opinion on the subject. He said, “This demographic has the idealistic notion that everyone who votes understands all of the issues, but in truth the average voter doesn’t and never did.

“It’s not uncommon for the average voter to vote for a party the way they have historically, but this demographic is afraid to vote for the first time because they know they do not understand everything.”

According to Lambert, this fear often causes one of two things to happen: either people don’t vote, or they vote the way their parents vote.

The truth is that this demographic “doesn’t have the experience to form an opinion on the issues at hand—they just haven’t lived long enough,” Lambert said.

This is not their fault. Some of the major issues in the upcoming election are pensions, the decline of the American dollar, and the debt in America, and according to Lambert, these are the three issues Americans will never hear a candidate discuss in debate. With only two minutes allotted to each candidate, there just isn’t enough time to explain the complexity of these issues, and so they are never brought up.

“When this demographic watches the debates, they are often put off because they don’t understand the consequences of the candidates’ economic positions, or what it means when a question is asked and the candidate steers away from the question in his response,” Lambert said. What young people don’t understand is that it would take 15 minutes to explain the answer to the posed question, he explained.

But one issue this demographic does understand is war. They make up the majority of the military in Iraq. They also understand things like abortion and gay rights. So these are the issues they concentrate on.

As for this election, Lambert said, “If all the data is correct, this year we will have more people voting in an election than ever in the last 50 years. And this election is so close that if 18-to-25-year-olds vote predominately one way or another, they can determine the election themselves.”