A lot of people are aware that voting is important. But how many people are aware at how important is it in fact? And what is the group that has the most important vote? Many people will say all votes are which is true. But there is one specific group that is slightly more important than the rest; the youth vote.
Why Young Voters?
The reason why their votes are a bit more important than others, is because of the lack of them. Many of the youth choose not to vote because of whatever reason they have but the most popular one is because they think it wont matter. Which is far from the truth. Many of the youth are often pushed aside when it comes to politics because of their age as well.
So many grown adults often say the youth are too naïve and immature to be involved in politics. Leading to more of them away from it. These types of discouraging comments are the reason many young people do not wish to associate with politics.
“The notion that young people’s perspectives aren’t valuable in politics is absurd. We are the generation that will feel the impacts of today’s policy for the longest,” stated Erin Wade, senior at the University of Michigan.
The Power of Their Vote
Since 2018, many young people have been far more engaged in in both local and national elections. For example, earlier this year, when there was a debate about abortion rights that the Supreme Court overturned, the youth spoke out. In August, just when Kansas was going to eradicate abortion rights throughout that state, the youth voted against this and won.
About 14 percent of the votes were people that were thirty years old or younger. The youth achieved to send a message to the state of Kansas that they are not to be underestimated. “Young voters are as informed and as engaged as ever, demonstrating record turnout in the last two midterm election cycles. Yet, the reach and influence young voices have — fueled by social media — is unprecedented and presents endless opportunities for our strategies to evolve,” stated Stephanie Young, journalist from the Democracy Docket.
The Opinion of The Community
In an Interview with Sankofa Safe Child Initiative, they discussed the topic of the young votes and what to do about it. They believe that the youth don’t quite comprehend the importance of their vote because they don’t know the history of it. It is up to the adults to teach the young about why each and every one of their votes is important. In order to do this, these organizations will put together an event for the young people in the community to join them in this important discussion.
“We want to get a group of young people to discuss the importance of knowing the history behind voting and how it affects their future and generation to come,” stated Tyshonda Melchor, representative of Sankofa Safe Child. In collaboration with The News School and the Chicago Leader, Sankofa will be coming to speak along with some guest hosts, about the importance of voting and the power the youth have.
This event will be taking place on Dec. 5, 2023 at St. Agatha Catholic Church, located at 3147 West Douglas Boulevard, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. All youth are encouraged to show up but everyone is welcome.
Vote, Vote, Vote
No matter how much one believes that their own vote does not count, vote anyway, because there might be thousands of other people thinking the same thing. Youth votes are very important. After all, It is their future that depends on it.
Written By Erika Cano
Sources:
Interview: Sankofa 10/10/23
Democracy Docket: The Power of The Youth Vote
Forbes: Learning The Importance Of The Youth Vote At The University Of Michigan
Top and Featured Image Courtesy of hjl Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of MaryLand GovPics Flick Page – Creative Commons License
