Young Peoples Human Rights and the Politics of Voting Age - Essay Example

The call for young people to participate in a democratic election has been an advocacy intended to encourage the younger generation to take advantage of their opportunity to take an active part in the electorate system. The common predisposition of this portion of the population toward indifference and their resolve to not vote means that there is no full appreciation of the will of the people. This in essence beats the very purpose of a free and democratic election. This right which is not enjoyed by everyone is treated passively. The notion that one vote does not count becomes a multitude when shared by millions of young voters. In substance, these numbers could easily change results when taken collectively. We only have to take a look at the current reelection of Pres. Barack Obama to make a point. The turnout of the young demographic proves d to be the decisive factor which led to Obama securing another four years in the oval office. The young voters made up of a larger number of the electorate compared to his first election. The 18-29 years old demographic was the largest percentage of voters at 19% which was up by a percentage from 2008. Obama was able to get 60% of these votes while Mitt Romney only got 36%. Despite a fall from Obama’s 66% share in the 2008 election, this 60% still made the difference in his marginal win against the Republican. This makes Obama the highest Democratic presidential candidate to get the most votes from the 18-29 age group. A staggering number compared to John Kerry’s 9% in his 2004 presidential bid against reelectionist Pres. George W. Bush (Kingkade, n.p.). The ostensible support of young voters for Obama confirmed by the numbers led to the conclusion shared by a number of people that this win, much like the first, can be credited to them. Elizabeth Flock’s U.S. News article “Preliminary Tallies: Without Youth Vote, Obama Would Have Lost Election” confirms how the incumbent president’s appeal to young people made him an infallible opponent. This sentiment of likability is not shared by Romney who loses grasp to appeal to youth voters. The young voters in the key states of Florida, Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania were all for Obama. Ohio and Florida which houses the University of Central Florida and the Ohio State University, two of large colleges only mean big number of young voters (n.p.). The vitality of the president and his affable nature makes him emphatic to the younger generation. His love for technology and the support he commands from Hollywood are just some of the things which easily connect to young voters. It would be difficult to compete with a man whose main supporters include among others George Clooney and pop star Katy Perry. The misapprehension of the Romney campaign to focus on engaging young voters to their side proved to be a fatal flaw to their system. Had they garnered enough youth votes to at least even out with the other party then they would have stood a bigger chance you swing the results to their favor. The recently concluded presidential election proved a point that you cannot disregard the youth sector when it comes to campaigns. The right to vote by the young sector of society had been a long struggle at times ignored by those who are granted it. Sonja Grover makes a distinct argument that the capacity to vote is a fundamental human right which in its essence is a strong manifestation of a person’s human dignity that it is necessarily a way for him to address oppression and on the possibility of others transgressing on his dignity. This must first start with the understanding of what are our human rights to fully seize its consequent result. “The struggle for youth vote by youth then, at its core, emblematic of the recognition by young people of their human dignity and intrinsic worth as autonomous people” (p. 4). Suffrage is a right granted in a democratic society. The occasion of an election is the very vital nature of a democracy. It is a way to decide people’s representation as determined by the people through a transparent system of election which allows them to choose their leaders unequivocally. The autonomy described by Grover is an interesting take on understanding the issue of young voters participating in the election process. That age which comprises of the youth voters is pivotal time in the life of this sector. They are at the threshold of their young adult life where most are barely out of high school or just in college not quite knowing where they stand on the world. Many other legislators have proposed a higher minimum age requirement to be able to vote and just recent new laws implement stricter policies for young people taking up to the polls. The main issue remains at the core the observed apathy that young people have over the whole election system. They do not believe, or care enough, to go cast their votes since they deem this activity as a futile exercise of a right they have no regard for. Historically, the majority age of 21 was also the time for eligibility to vote. The question of the years which encompasses youth has been linked to the age of majority. Prior to 1971, the United States has maintained this age but the age of enlistment to the Army at 18 years old specifically caused by the Vietnam War brought the logical change to lower the minimum age requirement for voting. This movement is encapsulated in the mantra ‘old enough to fight, old enough to vote’ and with the prohibition on gender discrimination by the Constitution, both young men and women at the age of 18 became qualified to vote (Grover, p.22). The very question of potential becomes a main discourse in the issue of young people voting and a campaign against their disenfranchisement from popular elections. There are many organizations dedicated at informing and empowering the youth of their right to participate in social change by civic participation. Rock The Vote is among these groups which are keen on educating and motivating young people to take part in instigating change through their own ways. This organization has been ubiquitously present more recently during the election system particularly teaming up with other groups and celebrities to encourage high turnouts from youth voters. In their own words, “We use music, popular culture, new technologies and grassroots organizing to motivate and mobilize young people in our country to participate in every election, with the goal of seizing the power of the youth vote to create political and social change” (Rockthevote.com). The utilization of these avenues to connect with young voters is an ingenuous way to fire up interest and encourage them to participate. The recent election, if anything else, proves that there is no significant indifference gap from youth voters as feared by many. Given the right encouragement and the willingness to take part in political change which only intertwines with social change, then the youth voters are willing and able to march to election polls to cast their votes. The noises made by certain groups to disenfranchise the young from participating will only lead to injustice as it violates a vested right connected with dignity as previously mentioned. The young demographic represent a powerful sector which must not be feared but encouraged. In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, “you must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Bibliography Flock, Elizabeth. "Preliminary Tallies: Without Youth Vote, Obama Would Have Lost Election." US News. U.S.News & World Report, 07 Nov. 2012. Web. 08 Nov. 2012. . Grover, Sonja C. Young People's Human Rights and the Politics of Voting Age. Dordrecht: Springer, 2011. Print. Kingkade, Tyler. "Youth Vote 2012 Turnout: Exit Polls Show Greater Share Of Electorate Than In 2008." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 07 Nov. 2012. Web. 08 Nov. 2012. . Rock The Vote. "About Rock the Vote." Rock the Vote. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2012. . Read More