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Voting Comes Alive!
by Eric J. Plosky, 02.18.03
"We were more aware and opinionated than many adults." |
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For most teenagers, Election Day is just another day off from school. You can't vote until you're 18, right? Well, maybe that's going to change. A number of groups across the country are reaching out to teens — and some teens are trying to lower the voting age.
What's so great about voting? "I don't see a point in voting," says Shirwain Thomas, 16, of Boston, who sums up the attitude of a lot of young voters. Among 18-to-24-year-olds, a recent survey showed that fewer than one in five vote.
Each vote actually does make a difference — look at the 2000 presidential election, which essentially was decided by a relatively small number of votes in one state, Florida. A lot of local politicians can win or lose by just a few votes. These are the people who pass laws — about schools, community resources, and crime — that most affect teens' lives.
One teen-founded group out of Cambridge, Massachusetts, is actually trying to lower the voting age to 17 for local elections. "We were more aware and opinionated than many adults," says cofounder Jesse Baer (now 18), "but we weren't allowed to vote. It didn't make sense to us, and we decided to change it." Voila — the Campaign for a Democratic Future (CDF).
When CDF got the Cambridge City Council to approve its proposal in March 2002 (by an eight-to-one vote), it was national news. The state government tossed out the idea, but the group isn't giving up. Member Curt Perry, 17, says, "It's quite likely the measure will pass in the next two years."
Although a lot of politicians don't cater to teens in particular, and young voter turnout is low, Baer is still confident that "many teens would vote in a heartbeat if given the chance."
Not Your Parents' Politics
Even if politicians aren't paying attention to teens, there are plenty of groups out there who want you to get involved. World Wresting Entertainment's "Smackdown Your Vote!" is trying to body-slam its audience into community participation and voter registration. Over the past two years, WWE has visited 29 states, and another nationwide tour just started. "You have to bring democracy to the people," says spokesman Gary Davis, and who better to bring it than the likes of professional wrestlers such as Kurt Angle? "They have a way of talking straight," Davis says.
WWE works with a bunch of different groups, including the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS). To drum up interest among those too young to vote, NASS is trying to get teens to be poll workers instead — running the voting booths on Election Day. Strangely enough, at age 16 you can't vote, but 11 states will let you work the polls (and another five states say ok if you're 17). Some states will even pay you! Hey, whatever works.
And of course, there's the classic Rock the Vote campaign, which began in 1990 and is still registering voters and getting teens involved in community activities. Freedom's Answer, a new group, also targets teens with campaigns like Friday Night Football, which encourages students at high school football games to rally adults to vote.
"D" Is for Democracy!
Plus, teens can influence politics even if they can't vote. One group of high schoolers in Tampa got together to protest restrictions on night driving. They collected hundreds of signatures and persuaded a state senator to take on their cause.
And, hey, you can be a young politician, too. Marc Molinaro became mayor of Tivoli, New York, at the ripe old age of 19. And in November, Jeffrey Dunkel was elected mayor of Mount Carbon, Pennsylvania — at age 18, only a few months after his high-school graduation. Pretty sweet.
Remember, it does eventually boil down to democracy — if nobody votes, it's not really a democracy. The word does mean "rule by the people," after all. So make your voice heard!
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