Why youth don't vote

COEUR d'ALENE - Jeremy Gerhardt, a sophomore at North Idaho College, said he often uses a quote commonly attributed to Pericles, a leader of ancient Greece, when attempting to get his colleagues at the college involved in the voting process.

The quote, "just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you," is one that Gerhardt, 20, and other students are hoping will make an impact on their peers.

But the historical lack of youth involvement when it comes to voting and the political process makes it an uphill battle.

"I don't find a lot of young people that are interested in it (politics) in order to help their community," said Reina Rodriguez, 18, president of the North Idaho College Young Republicans.

"They think that their vote doesn't count. I personally think that's a self-made myth. Or they just don't want to be involved because they think that politics aren't a big deal and elected officials aren't going to make a difference."

In Kootenai County, 18- to- 29-year-olds make up 11 percent of the 68,484 registered voters.

In an interview with The Press, North Idaho College political science instructor Richard Tanksley, who holds a doctorate in the subject, said he doubted that Kootenai County is in worse shape than the rest of the nation when it comes to youth voter turnout.

A United States Census study backs Tanksley's comment. According to the study, in the 2012 presidential election, which commonly gets the highest voter turnout, only 45 percent of 18- to- 29-year-olds voted.

There are several reasons for low voter turnout, Tanksley said, many of which are applicable to youths. These include, but are not limited to:

* Mobility (people who have moved within the last five years vote less)

* Lower incomes

* Delayed transitions to adulthood

In order to improve youth participation in the election process, Tanksley said he would be careful in assigning blame to one particular factor.

Although Tanksley is an advocate for mandatory American Government courses for college students, he said that there is no data that shows increased education leads to greater participation. Citing a paper published in the Educational Review, Tanskley said the results of an extensive study showed "little evidence for civic education having a discernible or direct effect on voting or voter registration."

Community leaders and local political parties could do better with engaging youths to participate in the process, Tanksley said, but there are many who "go out of their way to include younger voters." He pointed to candidates who offer internships to young people, and the city of Coeur d'Alene's practice of designating committee seats for high school students as examples.

"Both parties try to engage younger people; still, there is a gap in involvement," Tanksley said. "We could do better though by encouraging younger candidates in elections and trying to get younger people involved in politically based clubs. NIC does the latter but often membership in politically based clubs ebbs and flows. Typically, I have found that students are more concerned and active in regards to issues, rather than a specific club based on a political party."

Apathy is a common word used to describe young people when it comes to voting and the political process. But Tanksley said it's "hard to blame them" for the lack of involvement and turnout at the polls.

"Often there is not much choice and many are still too concentrated on their jobs and school to take the time to vote. Still, I advise my students that if you don't vote, you can't complain," Tanksley said.

Both Rodriguez and Gerhardt are involved with registration drives in an effort to get more of their peers involved and voting. Rodriguez said her club's goal this year is to get 100 students registered to vote.

"I don't know how much we will have by then," Rodriguez said. "I'm finding that I need to go to them and talk to them and only maybe a couple will come up to our table and talk to us."

"They pretty much act creeped out when someone asks them to vote," Gerhardt added.

One hindrance in getting more participation, according to Rodriguez and Gerhardt, is how politicians interact with potential young voters.

"You're asking 18- to- 25-year-olds on campus to relate to and talk to 40-year-olds," Rodriguez said. "It's a little intimidating, these are educated people who are good at public speaking and students think 'How am I going to talk to them?' What you find, though, is that the politicians really enjoy the youth, but have a hard time relating to them. I think they don't know what to do with the younger generations."

Gerhardt added that when politicians interact with youth, they should focus their discussions on issues that matter more to their audience rather than sticking to their campaign platforms that are catered more to older generations.

The one thing both of the students expressed during their interviews with The Press, was the importance of more of their peers getting to the polls.

"If the younger generations voted for the officials they wanted in office, by the time they're older those elected officials will have made sure that bills were either passed or weren't passed based on what they (young people) wanted," Rodriguez said. "When they're young they don't think their vote matters. But by the time they do vote, it's already shot and they're then preparing for the next generation rather than voting for concerns of their own generation. When you vote, it's your choice and you get to pick who you want. That's a big deal."

"They (students) tell me they've never voted and it doesn't work," Gerhardt said. "Well someone has got to come along and help change that attitude. We really can actually make a difference here in Idaho."