One of the hottest topics we hear about today is politics. This really isn’t a new trend as we the people have always known that what goes on in our respective governments really does affect us directly. However, with the upcoming presidential election, the recent spark in interest in foreign and immigration policy, debates on gun control, and the buzzword of the week, Brexit, there’s been a noticeable shift in interest in politics when it comes to the younger generation, the Millennials, those being 18 to around 28, to be more precise. The internet is more than likely the primary reason for this spark in interest as more and more campaigners and politicians are using social media as a platform to promote their ideas. A social media platform equals more views from younger people and these political figures know that and use it to their full advantage. So being informed is not the issue because any information about what is going on in our government can be found with the click of a mouse or the tap of the touchscreen. The issue at hand is young people not showing up to the polls to play a part in the political process.
A good example of this happening, or should I say not happening, is the recent update in the race for the white house when it comes to the Democratic and Republican nominees. Focusing on the two candidates who as of now are looking to be their respective party's nominees, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. *shivers* According to a poll run by The Huffington Post on June 30, Hillary Clinton is at 55 percent in the "unfavorable" category. Meanwhile, Trump is at 60 percent in the unfavorable category. Interesting statistics for the two party nominees. One could ask themselves "How does this happen?" but the answers are in the statistics. The United States Election Project, a project that records voter demographics for various elections states that thus far in 2016, the highest turnout for voting in the primaries has been from individuals 60 and over. Meanwhile the demographic with the lowest turnout? You guessed it, 18-29.
The conclusion we can draw from these statistics is the people voting in these favorability polls are not making it to the actual primary polls. The Huffington Post runs its polls primarily online so we can also conclude with almost 100 percent certainty that the people getting online to take part in these polls are from the younger generation. These younger individuals with very valid and very important political ideas are simply not being heard because they aren't making it to the voting booth. A huge fraction of the American peoples' opinions are not being heard because we aren't voicing them when it matters. That is why we are stuck with choosing between the lesser of two evils when we have to elect our next president in November. With the current route we are on, it is going to be very difficult if not impossible to change the nominees running this year. However, the future of our nation implores the younger generation to educate themselves and be present at the polls come November.
