Young voters are failing Bernie Sanders, just as they've failed so many before

[applegrove]

Young voters are failing Bernie Sanders, just as they've failed so many before

by Philip Bump at the Chicago Tribune

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-bernie-sanders-youth-vote-20160222-story.html

SNIP..............


The age split is probably even a more important split than the one on race, in fact. In Nevada entrance polls, younger Hispanic voters backed Sanders heavily, while older Hispanic voters didn't. The Wall Street Journal reports a similar split among African American voters.

In the two states Sanders lost -- Iowa and Nevada -- young voters turned out much less versus their share of the population (as of the most recent Census estimates) than in New Hampshire. Those aged 18 to 30 are a smaller percentage of the population in New Hampshire than they are in Iowa or Nevada, but they turned out about as much in this year's contests. (There are margins of error on these that are not insignificant, but that's not important at this point.)

The problem -- which also happens to be the ongoing, perpetual problem for candidates who bank on the youth vote -- is that older voters usually over-perform.

We've noted repeatedly that young people simply don't turn out to vote as much as older voters. That overlaps a bit with Sanders' "working class" comment; income, education level and age are all overlapping groups which tend to vote less frequently.



...............SNIP

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

1. Whatevs.

We'll see where things are in April.

[arcane1]

2. Exactly, those damn younger voters really let Obama down.

[applegrove]

3. Important issue. If we could figure out how to motivate the young adults to vote in greater numbers,

then Democrats would win many, many more elections. Not just Bernie. Many Democrats would benefit.

[arcane1]

4. Agreed.

One way to do that is to earn their vote.

[0rganism]

7. ^^this^^

even Bernie, with a clear direct message and no SuperPACs, isn't getting the younger voters to turn out proportionally.
maybe young-uns don't understand the impact national politics has on their day-to-day lives.
i've been middle aged long enough to know something about what it means to be young, it's easy for a young person to miss something that started 20 years ago and say "that's just how it's always been, oh well."

[applegrove]

13. Remember how hard it was to go to bed for a nap when you were a kid - that meant an endless time

of no playtime or learning. I used to cry. That is because time was in a totally different perspective than it is when you are older (and time speeds up). I am 50 and for me now weeks fly by, and then years. I think that young adults have to 1)plan ahead 2)miss something fun to go vote 3)don't have cars to go vote and it will take forever to stand in line 4) are unsure of politics or 5) unsure of their registration as voters. That has a little to do with it. Of course the GOP is amping up #5. That may be their main motivation for voter ID. They may have studied youth voters and come to the conclusion naivete about the process stops them from voting so created the Voter ID issue with young adult Democrats in mind. Or maybe young adults are particularly easily frustrated. Of course the politically motivated young adults get out and vote. But not the ones who are bros and could be playing a game instead. How do we light a fire under them beyond Bernie (who I agree has done an incredible job of inspiring the young). I hope the Democrats are studying young adults that is for sure.

[0rganism]

14. yeah naptime was a pain

i seldom got to sleep because i couldn't stand the boredom and unfairness of it all
i think you're on the right track with the 5 issues confronting young voters -- voting has to be viewed at least as valuable as a kick ass dance party or they'll do that instead.
there's something attractive about Bernie's rallies that hasn't carried over to turnout at the polls. maybe just a lot more "social event" status that makes it a "thing to do"; from what i've seen, Sen. Sanders does a good job tying his rallies to the idea of a larger movement, but i don't recall him putting the same emphatic message around voting. maybe i just haven't seen any recent footage (since the voting started) and he is saying something about it now. if he is, it's insufficiently persuasive.

[cali]

5. Bullshit.

Poor Hillarians.

[Buzz cook]

6. I don't think that's the case.

I think a lot of the blame for Bernie's poor Nevada showing has to do with his campaign team not being on the ball.

[workinclasszero]

8. Tried to tell these people months ago

That young people are the most unreliable voters overall.

I was told I hate young people. I was told I'm an old geezer GTFO out the way of Bernie's glorious millennial revolutionary army.

I was kicked off this board two or three times because the truth and science and mathematics are not honored by the Bernie vanguard.

But now they see in the dying embers of Bernie's campaign that all of those things are very real.

Live and learn

[Vogon_Glory]

9. My belief in the youth vote took a beating

My belief in the youth vote took a beating during the last couple of decades, starting with Howard Dean's 'Slacker Rebellion.'

I have come to the unhappy conclusion that most young voters just don't get it--political change is not only going to take time but sustained effort. Just voting for the thrill of it during a Presidential year isn't going to cut it, assuming that the youthful and newly-registered voters even bother to show up--and G*d knows how many of the registered slackers sat on their backsides in 2004, continued to do so afterwards, and have little brothers and sisters imitating their self-defeating behavior today?

One of the reasons President Obama wasn't able to do more was because the youthful voters stayed home in 2010 and again in 2014.

I feel angry and betrayed, and while I applaud our younger members' youthful enthusiasm, I abhor so many of their contemporaries' inexcusable sloth.

You want it, you'd better work for it.

[basselope]

11. Caucuses are much more of a PITA

Young voters are also more likely to have jobs that won't let them take a few hours off to go and support their candidate at a Caucus, but it is MUCH easier to vote in the general election.

[reformist2]

12. I'm not against caucuses per se, but they skew *really* old. As in, average age of 58 old.

[Sancho]

15. Young people don't vote

[whatchamacallit]

16. You must be so pleased

[applegrove]

17. Nope. Young people not voting hurts all democrats, across time and across the country. I suggested

later on in the thread that Democrats should be studying this issue in fine detail.

[whatchamacallit]

18. Ok

There are several reasons why, one of them being bad candidates who don't seem to represent them or care about their issues. That is the first place the party should look for answers.