If you’ve been paying attention these past couple months, you’ll notice that there’s been a presidential race going on. There’s never been a race quite like this. There’s Donald Trump, a reality star/ businessmen running against Hillary Clinton, former Secretary of State and hopeful first woman president. This election is not only about the candidates, but something much greater: getting U.S citizens involved in the political process again.
It’s no hidden fact that voter turnout in the United States is a problem, with only 40 percent of the population participating in primaries and only 60 percent actually voting for the president when the time comes, as according to FairVote.com. Due to new limitations and a lack of interest, voter turnout has been on a steady decline for years, which is a growing problem for a nation that relies on votes to choose its next leader.
Why is there a decline you may ask? There are many factors that play into why voter turnout has declined over the years, one being new voter ID laws. These laws restrict people who do not have access to ID cards. This means people who cannot afford an ID cannot vote, making voter turnout extremely low in low-income areas. Voter ID laws also make people waiting for valid ID’s ineligible to vote.
Another problem is that some states require early registration, meaning you must register months before the primary even happens. This system leaves many people confused and out of the loop as to when they need to register. For instance, in New York, thousands of voters could not vote due to the fact that the New York primary made people register months before the actual primary took place. This left many people angered and confused because the rules of primaries vary state to state.
Why are these problems so significant? According to PEWResearch.com, the U.S. has the fourth lowest voter turnout of any developed country. The only countries that came in lower were Japan, Chile, and Switzerland. As a result of these shockingly low numbers, candidates have begun to take on voter turn out as one of their many platforms in the election. Candidates have brought up voter turnout at debates, in advertisements and at rallies all in an attempt to gain more and more voters.
All candidates have brought up how they want to have more people show up to vote, but don’t go into much detail after that, all except for one: Bernie Sanders. He has been taking the topic of voter turnout to new heights. He has made it one of his main platforms and has been sharing his message with citizens around the nation.
Sanders has created a platform and a message that resonates well with millennial's beliefs, such as raising the minimum wage, making college more affordable and cutting college loan interest rates. As a result, in the New York primaries, there was a record-breaking voter turnout of an estimated 408,000 18-29-year-olds, 65 percent of them voting for Sanders and 35 percent of them voting for Clinton as reported by Daniel White of Timemagazine.com.
The numbers are astonishing as it shows that Sanders’ message is not just words, it’s actually working with young voters. It’s getting millennials involved in the political process and that’s never been done in such a successful manner before. Sanders resonates with many people because he sees the problems in the political system and has been trying as hard as he can to fix them. He is a man that has dedicated his life to fighting the social injustices of his time. Sanders has fought an uphill battle for justice since he entered the senate, but that has not stopped him from sticking to his beliefs and motivating young people to vote. Sanders may not secure the number of delegates needed to win the Democratic nomination, but he has lit a fire in the youth of America. A fire that will hopefully only continue to grow as voter turnout is a necessity in a democracy.
This nation was created by the people, for the people, so it’s about time the people started taking advantage of it. Candidates need to focus on the future of this country rather than their own and that is exactly what Bernie Sanders is doing. He has been tireless in his efforts to get people to vote, he has campaigned across the country and spoken in a manner, unlike any other candidate. Even if he doesn’t win, he has accomplished a great task and that is the rejuvenation of America's youth in politics and that may be greater than winning the presidency. The president may rule the free world, but Bernie rules America's millennials, and he has revitalized their interest in this country's future, which is a greater task than most candidates will ever accomplish. Though voter turnout may still be low, it is starting to rise, and hopefully, once Sanders’s message reaches more people, the number of voters who turn out to vote will only continue to grow.
