Beyond Voting: Engagement

(originally posted on Sunday, November 12, 2006 ) According to Dianne Bystrom, Director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics and Iowa State University in an article dated November 5, 2006, the youth vote increased by 11 points between year 2000 and 2004. In that article, she says that 40% of young people cite the war in Iraq, terrorism, and national security, as the top issues, leading them to vote—and vote Democratic. If Sam Graham-Felsen, writer on the blog of http://www.thenation.com/, on November 10, 2006, is correct, Bystrom correctly anticipated a “youth voting wave.” In 2005, youth vote surged by 15% in Viginia and 19% in New Jersey. And in 2006, there were 2 million more young voters than in 2002. Graham-Felsen notes that youth voting was greater in areas targeted by “Get Out the Vote” efforts. However, for there to be engagement “en masse, they need a real spark.” For Graham-Felsen, somewhat surprised that several particularly influential issues like the Iraq War, exorbitant college costs, and global warning did not sufficiently get the entire youth vote to the polls, it is not certain what that spark will be. He then wonders whether a reinstatement of the draft would in fact be such a spark.To me, Graham-Felsen’s comments imply that young people will only vote en masse when there is the right “issue,” or rather, if I might use a different word: gimmick. Following Graham-Felsen’s logic to its natural conclusion, voting is nothing more than a product being sold to the young, something WE want the young people to BUY INTO because of how it will benefit us, just as other gimmicks are designed to benefit the trickster rather than the tricked. Youth voting is not an end in itself. Additionally, voting is not synonymous with engagement in the political process. A cursory review of the democratic tradition in this country will show that participation in the democratic process has always involved more than mere voting. It has meant participation in civics and activist groups, volunteerism, and other forms of communal involvement. In 1999, the National Association of Secretaries of State conducted a study where it found that Americans between ages 15 and 24 wer found to have “only a vague understanding of what it means to be a citizen in a democratic society.” Suzanne Soule, “Will they Engage? Political Knowledge, Participation and Attitudes of Generation X and Y.” Veranstaltungsdokumentation (Oktober 2001) at http:// www.bpd.de/veranstaltungen/1SUI3U,0,0,Will_They_Engage_Political_Knowledge_Participation_and_Attitudes_of_Generation_X_and_Y.htm. A 1998 National Assessment of Educational Progress found that 75% of high school seniors were not proficient in civics. Another study also found that only 26% of incoming college freshmen considered it very important or essential to keep up to date with political affairs. In 1970, the rate was over 50% and in 1990, it was 42%. Id citing “The American Freshman: Thirty Years Trends, 1997.”Statistics show that those who vote do so because they believe their vote makes a difference, or because it is an important way for one’s views to be heard. Id. If this is a correct assessment, it means that increased voting among young people is a sign that they are interested in civic involvement and social responsibility. It also means that they are engaged in the American political and social system as a whole, not merely on Election Day. In other words, increased involvement among young people voting is not due solely to "get out the vote" drives, but due to segmants of the youth population feeling the importance of voicing their opinion or influencing the election outcomes. The continued discrepency between the increased voter rolls and the ultimately goal of a whole population of engaged voters is not due merely to "the right issue" and should not be simplified in that way.Instead, we should dedicate ourselves to increasing voter turnout among the youth by concentrating on increasing opportunities for civic engagement and civic achievement. If the youth are more likely to involve themselves when they see results or a difference from their involvement, the notion of concentrating on voting rather than civic participation as a whole seems particularly defeatist, and perhaps not so fair to the youth themselves.