| Bernie Sanders Rally at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, MA |
Three thousand individuals gathered at the MassMutual Convention Center in Springfield, Massachusetts to support Bernie Sanders one Saturday afternoon. By 2 p.m. on October 3, a diverse group of people filled the stands and the floor.
Parents who brought their children kept them busy by dancing and spinning them round in circles. Older couples found seats where they could watch from above. College students filled the floor surrounding the stage as if it was a concert, to get as close as possible to Bernie Sanders.
According to recent studies, youth voting turnout is at an all-time low. Civic Youth, a website that provides research on civic engagement and learning, revealed that only 19.1 percent of 18-29 year olds voted in the 2014 election.
As a majority of this age group is made up of college students, the question is why are they not voting and why is youth voting involvement decreasing?
Cortney Zack, a junior allied health major at the University of Connecticut, believes that it is wasting an opportunity to not vote. Originally from Brookline, New Hampshire, Zack would have to use an absentee ballot to vote.
Zack said, many people do not know how to get one and some don’t realize they exist.
“I know what an absentee ballot is but I didn’t know there was a specific process you had to go through in order to get one and I know for a matter of fact that half my friends have never even heard of that term,” Zack said.
Carole Byers, member of the board of canvassers in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, voting with an absentee ballot is fairly simple.
“It’s actually a very short form really, you sign it and send it to your town hall, then it gets sent to the secretary of state and then you’ll get your ballot. It’s all about asking,” Byers said.
But if students don’t even know what an absentee ballot is, a problem may arise.
Michaela Hackett, of Cranston Rhode Island, a record breaking distance runner for Abilene Christian University, said how she wants vote but also admitted she doesn’t know what an absentee ballot is or the process of getting one.
Hackett said people don’t talk about the upcoming election on ACU’s campus.
“Our school doesn’t promote discussion of the election and I haven’t seen any advertisements or options for kinds of forums about it,” Hackett said.
Joey Gaulin, attending his final year in pharmacy school, sees a similar scenario at the University of Rhode Island.
“I have not heard a single thing on campus about voting and I haven’t heard of any discussions or information sessions on campus and if there are, they aren’t doing a good job of advertising for them,” Gaulin said.
Other students said, college campuses fall short when it comes to educating its youth on the voting process and its’ importance.
“It’s a hard thing to talk about because they don’t want to step on anyone’s toes,” Luis Aldrete, who also attends the University of Rhode Island, said.
Aldrete and Gaulin said, colleges are becoming extremely sensitive to what they say and promote.
“In the grand scheme of things colleges are a business and to keep people happy and to keep customers they don’t want to say anything that will upset them and turn them away,” Gaulin said.
What is forgotten is the difference of providing information on the upcoming election versus pushing personal views on students.
According to the Civic Youth, “having information about how, when and where to vote can help young people be and feel prepared to vote as well as reduce any level of intimidation they may feel.”
Information including how to register to vote and fill out an absentee ballot are simple tasks to increase votes according to board of canvasser’s, Carole Byers. Students feel that providing the youth with the tools to voice their decisions is an important factor so they can share their voice with the rest of the country when it comes time to cast their ballot.
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