FYI: This is not me voicing my political viewpoints or which candidate I choose to support in this election, and this is not me telling others who they should vote for.
Regardless of political affiliation, noticing that so many of the younger generation are participating in this election is truly inspirational. I think many of us now realize that we are, in fact, the future of this country, and Bernie Sanders has been making sure we all grasp that.
The main reason I’m choosing to focus on Bernie Sanders here is because of the vast support he has received from Millennials and younger voters. He has been targeting the younger generation in his campaign through various strategies, such as social media; as a result, he has gathered an overwhelming margin of his support from voters under the age of 29.
About 50 percent of all eligible voters between the ages of 18-29 turned out to vote in the 2012 election, giving them a 19 percent share of the total electorate. Millennials have actually been increasing their turnout over each presidential election since 2004. This increasing voter turnout has slowly been becoming the "new normal" for the millennial generation.
As a Millennial myself, seeing so many of my generation participating in this election is truly inspiring, regardless of who they are voting for. Finally, the younger generations are realizing that they are the future, and it’s their job to make a difference and vote for what they think is best for our country. In highschool, I had a very passionate American Government teacher who always stressed to us, “If you don’t go out and vote, you have no right to complain.” This is true on so many levels. If you want to make a change, you have to be active; you can’t sit around while others make decisions for you. Millennials are finally realizing that, and they are diving in with both feet.
So what is it that makes this upcoming election so important in the minds of the young voters? A number of key issues in this year’s election relate directly to students and young professionals, making it crucial that young people become educated about political issues and take to the polls to vote in the November election. Are a majority of them supporting Sanders? Does he seem to offer what they want in a political leader? Is he the candidate that speaks most to their beliefs? That’s each person’s personal opinion.
With the younger generation now becoming more engaged in the presidential election, it is affecting each candidate’s campaign. It may have been Sanders who began targeting the Millennials, but it appears each candidate has benefited from the turnout of young supporters. I mean, which candidate wouldn’t want additional support from young voters, especially when those voters are seen as the future of America? Young voters make up almost 20 percent of the entire voting population, having the potential to be extremely influential. They are also the most diverse age group in America; if candidates are trying to appeal to more than one group of people, winning the vote of the young population should be their main target.
Young voters have proven themselves supportive throughout the campaign process, as well as the caucuses and primaries that have already occurred. But will this political backing continue? Will they show up in November for the actual election? It’s hard to say this early. They are beginning to realize that they have the power to be an extremely influential factor in this election. If they are truly concerned with their future and making a change, I believe they will.
