Young Voters in Decline

The title of the article is “The kids aren’t alright: Obama and the youth vote” and is written by Carrie Dann. What caught my attention are the “youth vote” words in the title and it is intended for young people who have interests in politics. The credibility of the author is fairly high due the many quotes spoken by many politicians such as Peter Levine, director of the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University. The article suggests that president Barack Obama is targeting young voters for presidential support and votes. Campaigning to young voters is considered a good plan due to its cost efficiency and that young voters aren’t targeted by other groups. (Peter Levine) However, the article argues that a number of reasons that the young Democratic supporters are slightly declining. NBC’s latest poll shows that only 23 percent of young voters are interested in the 2010 election compared to 2006’s 50 percent. The recession may have also caused a heavier burden on young people than older ones. Another reason is that Obama’s presidency has not resonated with the campaign messages he presented. Dann’s article on how Obama’s presidential strategy of targeting young voters is not as effective as his first presidential campaigns. The author presented the reader with valid reasons on how the strategy was effective and why the strategy has become ineffective. As a young voter myself, I can relate to this article and believe that the reasons young people are less interested in the 2010 campaign are reasonable. Due to the recession, young people tend to focus more on job searching and have fewer times to think about voting. The most valid reason is that the president has not lived up to the expectation many thought he would and that many are either still hoping or disappointed with the president. The intended audience of this Dann’s article is clearly young people with the ability to vote. It sends a message that we even though many of us are uninterested in the next presidential campaign for a variety of reasons, we still need to be more involved. Becoming more involved in voting is the only way to bring change and I agree with the message Carrie Dann is sending through this article.