Ohio’s primary will be held on Tuesday, and as the nation keeps an eye on the Buckeye State, Ohio’s youth will miss out on yet another opportunity to establish legitimacy in the body politic.
Of the 115 students we polled, 70 were unsure who’d they’d choose for president.
Primary or not, you should know who you’re voting for five days before an election, especially when one of the five men could lead the country for the next four years.
Keith Lepak, associate professor of political science at YSU, stressed the importance of civic engagement by the college demographic.
“Students should also observe primaries for what they reveal about the candidates’ own campaign machines and on whom they rely for money,” Lepak said.
In 2008, only 51.1 percent of Americans aged 18 to 29 voted in the general election.
While it may sound great compared to previous years, it was dwarfed by the 67 percent turnout by the 30+ crowd.
When college students abstain from voting, they lose any traction gained in the congressional leverage game. No substantial interest groups have been formed on behalf of the youth demographic, leaving them with little power in Congress.
At Romney’s appearance on Monday, he was met with questions by retirees asking about their pensions and entitlement programs. Grandiose promises were made in hopes of gaining their votes.
When a tall, lanky high school senior asked about lowering the cost of college tuition, Romney replied with essentially nothing.
“Shop around,” Romney said. “Don’t take on too much debt and don’t expect the government to forgive that debt.”
Romney, like other politicians, couldn’t care less about youth turnout because he knows there isn’t one.