For youth voting, some expect more from colleges in informing their students. College initiatives to get out the vote, however, might not be enough.
Voting registration and transportation issues make it difficult for students to vote, according to The Daily Athenaeum.
Apathy, of course, stops students from voting more than anything else. Though voters between 18 and 24 years old have seen increased rates of voting since 2000, only 38 percent of them voted in 2012, according to Census Bureau data. Voting is more common as voters age. Since the 1960s, the only age group that has increased voting rate participation has been those over the age of 65.
To boost registration and voter participation, colleges could be key. Informing students about registration, how to obtain absentee ballots, and providing transportation to voting booths. That could favor colleges in small towns. Fewer precincts to reach, and fewer students to assist, could keep costs low and have a large impact on participation rates.
Those actions can assist the students who are engaged in the political process, but struggle with reality on election day. Reaching the unengaged, however, will be more difficult.
When the Census Bureau investigated why Americans didn’t vote in the 2014 midterm elections, they found 14 percent of nonvoters forgot to vote, or had problems with registration, transportation, or the polling place. The most popular reasons, however, were that nonvoters were “too busy” (28 percent), “not interested” (16 percent), or “illness/disability” (11 percent).
As with most nonvoters, nonvoting students don’t struggle with the process or realities of voting. They struggle with the belief that voting matters. The Washington Post noted that “Americans can overcome most of their reasons for not voting if they are actually motivated enough.” When Americans are bored with the candidates, or don’t see voting as effective, they won’t do it.
A disillusionment or loss in faith of American institutions, or traditional avenues to effect change, since the 1960s helps explain the loss of appeal for voting. Rebuilding that trust of institutions will take time, and voter participation rates could be slow to recover. Maybe Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders mark a re-engagement of the populace. If future elections see the rise of candidates that spark the disenfranchised, or spice up droll election coverage, Americans might perk up.
