According to International IDEA, the United States has almost the lowest voter turnout in the world, ranked a measly 140 out of 163. Perhaps Americans are apathetic, or maybe they’re just concerned their vote is meaningless in the face of America's massive political machine. Can my vote really change the course of politics, or am I just a grain of sand on the massive beach of democracy?
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The 2008 election is proving to be one that will be decided by independent and first time voters, thereby making young people pivotal players in choosing the next president. In recent studies 18-29 year olds have responded to the issues that concern those most, thereby making them big issues the next President will have to face. Ranking the highest of apprehensions at 17% were jobs and the economy. Next was the war, where 12% are concerned about the 1,049,398 19-29 year olds that have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001. Without the placement of a President that cares to enforce legislation that tackles these issues head on, we will not see solutions to these problems.
We know young people care about voting because of the unprecedented turnout during the primaries. Young voter turnout increased in nearly every state, many times by over one hundred percent. We were also the deciding factor in several states, ensuring both Barack Obama’s first victory in the Iowa caucus and John McCain’s victory in California. Statistics and polling suggests that this influence will not subside for the general election.
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