Will young people turn out to vote in this election in much more than their normal midterm numbers?

[elocs]

I'll believe it when I see it. The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior despite all of their apparent enthusiasm.

Last night a friend and staunch Liberal took me out to Applebees to eat and the question came up about young people voting. I said I was skeptical that they would turn out in anything much greater than their normal numbers which are unimpressive, so she asked our waiter who was in his early 20s if he intened to vote. He replied that he had voted in 2012 and otherwise kind of danced around the issue. We actually talked with him for awhile and found he was working 2 jobs, going to college, and his goal was to someday work for the FBI. We never revealed our political leanings but he should have been able to guess just because we were encouraging him to vote. After he left our table my friend said, "He's not going to vote". I'm pretty sure she was right.

So will the young people vote this time? Seeing is believing.

[pwb]

1. Every one i asked said yes they will vote.

So yes.

[elocs]

5. Your evidence, like mine, is anecdotal.

We won't know until after next Tuesday. But it is their chance to prove that they are a force to be reckoned with if they turn out in greater than usual numbers. Otherwise the politicians will feel free to ignore them.

[Demwolv]

2. Put yourself in our shoes

As disappointed as I am in my generation, this is a huge reason why we don’t vote. I have voted in every election that I could because I was raised with parents who do the same, but if I hear boomers tell me one more time how my generation sucks and we NEED to vote, I’m going to scream. We get it. Young people suck at voting. We get it. This generation is not like yours however. We grew up in a very different world where civic duties are not viewed as being carried out with pride. We are the ones starting all the movements you see, but the more we see those movements squashed and twisted, the more apathetic we become. Counter intuitive? Sure. But your protests seemed to matter. Anti war sentiment mattered and all we seem to get is a condescending pat on our heads for starting something and then we’re shoved out the door. Excuse me if my generation is annoyed as hell by the whole lot.

[qazplm135]

6. with all due respect

your generation needs to get over it. Voting is the only way to make change and get power and get your issues heard and addressed.

As long as young people are the smallest voting group, then their concerns will receive the smallest consideration.

It really is that simple.

[Demwolv]

7. This is exactly what I'm talking about

Funny how boomers tell us to get over shit and tell us constantly how lazy and entitled we are but beg for our votes when they need us. Maybe instead of complaining about our lack of votes, look at why your generation is so red. It's not always on us to save this country, especially when we aren't the ones who ruined it. The generations before us made us this way, so it's up to you to figure out what will get us to vote. Stop taking our generation for granted and telling us to "suck it up" until you desperately need us to undo what your generation did.

Sorry that we are tired of voting for old white men and the same stuffy politics. Maybe listen to our concerns and then we will vote more. Obama ran on issues targeted at young people and guess who f-in turned out to vote then? It's really not that hard to change with the times. You want our vote? Listen to us before names are put on ballots.

[qazplm135]

9. I'm not a boomer

First of all.

Second of all, if you want to hold your vote until someone you think is worthy comes along, feel free...but recognize that you will continue to be treated last because you vote last.

So be indignant all you want...but you'll remain last considered because you withhold your power.

[Demwolv]

8. Also..

I'd like to point out that voting ISN'T the only way to make a change.

May I remind you that a bunch of youth, many who can't vote actually made some gun regulations change because of their voices and activism? They got advertisers to pull ads off of a fox news program for inflammatory statements, made a republican governor of Florida sign new gun laws, made retailers raise their purchase age to 21, made companies pull millions of dollars away from pro-gun programs, and even got a man running unopposed to drop out from an election bid in Maine because he called one of the students degrading names.

Do not take my generation for granted. You need us, act like it.

[qazplm135]

10. It's the primary way to make a change

And as long as you don't vote, what is the risk to taking your generation for granted?

What are you going to do, not vote some more?

[samnsara]

3. most are too young to have voted in many elections..

….every year theres a whole new group of registered voters. we have to educate the newly registered differently than we have in the past. They are coming of voting age in a very different time than many of the newlies they follow.

[still_one]

4. It is their future. Social Security, Medicare, Healthcare, the environment, Civil Rights, the

stakes have never been higher, and while we all will be impacted by this, they will be the ones who will feel the most lasting effect

[MineralMan]

11. We'll find out next week sometime.

I have no idea, really. I'm hopeful, but very cautiously.

[Amishman]

12. Yes, but I'm expecting higher turnout across the board

When politics intersects with a cultural divide, turnout soars