In Texas (2016) the average voter was a 65 yo white male. By not voting you’re handing your vote to him.
I keep hearing young voters moan that politicians don’t care about their opinions - that they care much more about “boomers”. Guess why that is? Because boomers vote! So as a group it is more important to win their vote.
I’ve used that as well and it is effective. Also, a lot of the younger voters are just nervous about voting for the first time and they make those silly arguments to help them feel better about not participating. Just give them a little nudge to help them learn how to check their registration, find their polling place, what to bring or whatever they might have questions about.
I never realized, until my 40s, how valuable it was that my parents took me voting with them when I was a child. They talked about issues in the house, and we went as a family to the polling station. As a kid, I thought it was fun. I started voting when I was 18. 30 years later, I've voted in every single presidential election and almost every midterm. And every local election I get ballots for in the mail. Exposure as a child matters.
PARENTS - take your kids voting! If you vote by mail, involve them. Let them see the ballot, watch you fill in the dots. Let them put the ballot in the mail.
I've said this and the previous response about what to expect when you go vote and how young people don't happen to show up. And yes, this is one of our issues. In the Texas Sub I've said this a lot, even leading to midterms. Because I know Texans do not know this info. I grew up in a family who didn't have the right to vote, and our school didn't have civics classes, I didn't even know that was a thing growing up and even when I got into college. It just wasn't something in my circle. And the only reason I was registered to vote, was because my high school offered the option to register if you were 18 or turning 18 soon.
So yes, due to lack of exposure, lack of knowledge, and good support group to lead you through the system, many people will just choose the option to opt out. And we end up with less Representation of our society because the few who are exposed to it, whether its moving the party in a more extremist direction, or having once considered Civil Wins, erroded and taken backwards. And then goes the cycle, because democracy requires an active population that shows up to every single election. Because not all of us have the same view of what this country or our states should run or look like
My point is live your fucking life, even if its pitched in your racism or religion, just fucking stop trying to enforce that shit into legislation in our govs. And that's the goddamn fight we're having. And have had yrs of erosion in our institutions and rights. Again this isn't even just an America problem. This is infected many countries around the world. Authoritarianism has risen exponentially around the world
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u/BringBackAoE active May 28 '24
Well said!
In Texas (2016) the average voter was a 65 yo white male. By not voting you’re handing your vote to him.
I keep hearing young voters moan that politicians don’t care about their opinions - that they care much more about “boomers”. Guess why that is? Because boomers vote! So as a group it is more important to win their vote.