Young People’s Voting in the United States

Summary

The youth must recognize that failing to vote is choosing bad leaders. Young people are the present and the future, but they fail to recognize that they are the present. Most of them do not engage in the civic voting process in the USA, which is disheartening. Former US President Barrack Obama championed for the youth to recognize the challenges ahead of them. One way to solve future challenges is by voting for the right leaders. The current initiatives must be strengthened to ensure that the youth seriously engage in their democratic process. The youth must be molded into the perception that they are the current and future leaders and that the past is gone. They should even vie for the elective seats to offer themselves to serve the people of their nation. Using social media is one way the youth can be sensitized to engage in the voting process. The retrogressive thinking that political positions are meant for people beyond the youth stage in society needs to be eliminated. Young people must recognize that voting contributes to an efficient democratic process.

Statement of Problem

Despite the initiatives through social media and by organizations to ensure that the youth engage in voting, their voter turnout remains low. This study aims to determine the factors that affect youth engagement in the voting process. The study aims to identify where students and young people get election news and information. The research’s primary objective is to ascertain whether or not young people’s use of social media influences their choice of action. In addition, it seeks to determine the causes of the recent rise in get-out-to-vote (GOTV) initiatives for the last three presidential elections. The research plans to determine if the current populism era has affected voter participation rates. The study’s overarching goal is to learn how today’s youth evaluate the performance of political leaders. The research’s overarching objective is to determine whether or not young people’s exposure to and enthusiasm for voting are correlated with the use of digital and social media resources. The purpose is to learn what interests young people of this age.

Review of Related Literature

There are many resources that people, especially the youth and students, can use to get more information about elections. First, during their campaigns, politicians are vital information sources (Kamau, 2017). Some encourage the youth to turn up in large numbers so they can vote. Even though some information from these politicians may be inaccurate, they play a big role in sensitizing the youth to vote. Students may be educated on election matters in the school curriculum. Several civic education topics encourage the students to practice their democratic roles. Such topics make the students aware of the role they need to play in electing the appropriate leaders.

The youth and the students may get information on the election from governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The governmental bodies governing elections play a huge role in ensuring that the youth participate in voting exercises (Fowler et al., 2022). They run adverts on television and other social media platforms such as Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram to encourage the young generation to vote. GenZ has a social media preference; therefore, they will likely meet these adverts on different social media platforms. Ngwoke and Agusi’s (2018) study revealed that NGOs play a massive role in sensitizing the youth to participate in voting. They inform them that voting is one of their rights, and they have an active role in ensuring that the right leaders are elected.

Various international bodies aim to sensitize people to practice their democratic rights. There has been a recent decline in youth participation in the political process and voting exercises (Mohamad et al., 2018). Several internal bodies, such as The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), spread the message that refugees have the right to participate in the election of their original countries (UNHCR Ukraine, 2020). Youth refugees have more urge to participate in elections when they hear such motivating messages. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is under the United Nations (UN) and aims to sensitize people to know their rights, such as the right to vote (United Nations., 2021). When GenZ accesses such information, they feel more urge to engage in the democratic process.

Other information resources include random advertisements on television and radio on other social media platforms such as Twitter and YouTube. For example, on YouTube, there are mandatory advertisements that the viewer must watch (Joa et al., 2018). Such avenues can be used by individuals who wish to spread information on elections to the youth. The adverts can be aired on television in the breaks between the programs that the youth like watching. On Twitter, adverts encouraging the youth to vote may additionally be used. These sources will equip GenZ with knowledge of the election. Thus, social media plays a significant role in impacting youths’ decisions on voting day. The era of popularism has been characterized by increased voter turnout. More people have become educated on civic duties and thus prefer to vote.

There are several issues the youth prefer to discuss in the election. GenZ is interested in entertainment topics, such as the latest songs, movies, or video games available on the market (Baykal, 2020). They prefer to participate in themes concerning social issues such as the legal drinking age and legal sex consent age. Others are focused on their studies, and when they are sensitized on the issues surrounding the election, they may feel it is a distraction. These youth are concerned about having a better future through studies, and some may feel like knowing more about the election is another academic burden. They are more interested in topics concerning adolescents, such as the physical and emotional changes occurring in their bodies and how they can live a positive life during this stage.

Social media is a powerful tool that can improve the engagement of the youth in the election process. Social media is a powerful tool that can help mobilize young people to vote. (Ahmad & Sheikh, 2020). Research indicates that in the 2018 USA election, about 48% of the youth engaged in the election compared to the 30% who participated in the polls in 2014 (Center for Information and Research Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), 2018). Of those who participated in the 2018 elections, at least one of the participants used social media platforms such as Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram (CIRCLE, 2018). Due to the nature of social media, people can easily interact with and share information with their peers, thereby expanding their reach. In other words, social media can normalize electoral involvement and promote a culture of civic awareness by integrating voting and campaign data into people’s social life. For example, Facebook displays profile photographs of friends who have voted and participated in the election and an “I Voted” icon that, when tapped, informs other peers that the friend has voted.

The youth not engaged by the political candidate during campaigns can receive voter education via social media. In contrast to more traditional outlets like political parties and movements, 28% of the young people in the research learned about the election via social media (CIRCLE, 2018). As a result, using social media by campaigns and politicians to educate and engage voters is more than a carbon copy of “conventional” voter outreach efforts. It is imperative, but it typically depends on voter registration lists, which may not include the younger generation who have never voted. Social media can be used to improve the effectiveness of voter turnout, especially among the youth (Balo & Shawon, 2019). Social media platforms may play a crucial role by sharing news about registering to vote and voting to young people that other campaigns cannot reach.

One way to promote youth voting behavior is to encourage them to vote continuously. Digital media can be used to help mobilize young people to participate in voting (Boulianne & Theocharis, 2018). Social media are just as efficient as individual outreach in radicalizing young people, even though online contact may not appear to fit that conventional mode initially. Young people who had seen election-related content on social media sites were likelier to say they would cast a ballot. In a survey of young people, 55% of those who had heard about the election on social media said they were highly likely to vote, compared to just 22% of those who had not heard of election information (CIRCLE, 2018). Thus, there is a striking correlation between exposure to election coverage on social media and increased voter turnout.

GOTV initiatives have increased tremendously in recent elections in the USA. It aims to improve the voter numbers during the elections. Through targeted political campaigns, politicians can identify people they believe are their voters (Salzman, 2021). They can thus encourage them on voting day to turn up in large numbers and vote for them. It saves the politicians the vast costs of campaigning for the entire population and not winning the election. Advertisements urging people to GOTV on election day provide information on where people may cast their ballots and incentives for doing so.

In the election’s final days, it is essential to reach out to the appropriate people with the correct message. GOTV campaigns in the USA are mainly targeted at the youth to make them engage in voting (Almlund, 2018). Voter participation is significantly influenced by GOTV campaigns that offer voters helpful information about voting, assist them in making a strategy, and encourage them via persuasive messaging (Bhatti et al., 2017). Physical GOTV is effective but requires much time and people to actualize it. Targeted advertisements are a manageable and effective method of increasing a politician’s campaign’s reach at later stages of the campaign.

Research Questions

1. What resources do students and young people use to get their election information?
2. What topics, concerns, and issues matter to this youth?
3. How does social media impact their decision-making?
4. What increased Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) in the last three terms?
5. Is there an impact in the recent populism era affecting turnout outcomes?
6. How do young people make determinations of what is expected from political leadership?
7. Is there a correlation between digital information and social media, and how encouraged are young people to become engaged in voter participation?

Hypotheses Statements

1. There is a correlation between students and the youth using social media to get election information.
2. Topics about entertainment and adolescence concern the youth more than those on the election.
3. There is a correlation between increased voter turn-up and GOTV initiatives.
4. There is a relationship between the youth using social media and acquiring digital information to engage in voting.
5. There is a relationship between the youth using social media and improving their decision-making.

Significance of Study

1. The study aims to provide the relevant stakeholders with information regarding voting patterns among the youth.
2. The study aims to provide information to the relevant stakeholders so that they can develop initiatives that can encourage youth to participate in voting.
3. The study aims to help the relevant stakeholders understand the correlation between social media and the young generation’s participation in voting.
4. The study aims to provide the relevant stakeholders with information on the effectiveness of GOTV programs.

Method

A descriptive study design will be used across a population sample of about 100 participants aged 18-24. The study participants will be well chosen so that they can help answer the research problem. Physical questionnaires and online surveys will be the main method for collecting data. Videos and audio of interviews will be taken for future reference. The data collected from the questionnaires will be carefully analyzed to provide accurate data.

Participants

The population sample used in the research is youth aged 18 to 24 who may be still in school or have finished their education. The minimum age chosen is 18, the age for voting in the US in many states. About 100 youths across the USA will be involved in the study. The youth will be contacted via social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter. Other methods of contacting the participants will be through phone calls and email text messages. Few of the participants, about 10, will be contacted physically. The contact data for the participants will be obtained from various learning institutions across the USA and from friends. A descriptive study will be used to provide more information about the participants.

Instrumentation

Various instruments will be used to collect information for the study. Phones will be used to record the audio and videos collected during the interviews of some of the participants. Questionnaires with the study questions will be used in the research to determine the impression of youth on their voting patterns in the USA. Online surveys will be sent to the different participants via emails and various social media platforms. Checklists will be used to ascertain if all the participants have engaged in the study and provided feedback.

The data resources will effectively meet the hypothesis and research question demands. First, the participants chosen are directly affected by the study problem and thus can provide essential and reliable information on the topic. The population sample has attained 18 years and thus can comprehend the issues about their civic rights. The chosen sample will have access to phones; thus, it will be easier to communicate and collect reliable information from them.

Design/ Procedure

A descriptive research design will be used to describe the participants’ trends in voting exercises. Physical questionnaires and online surveys will be chosen as the data collection methods for this study because the data can be read and analyzed. Additionally, the videos and audio collected in the interviews can be watched later to give more information on the perceptions of youth on voting patterns. The research design will be the appropriate way to collect data as the chosen population sample can read, interpret and appropriately respond to the questions.

Data Analysis

First, the researcher will interrogate the questions that the participants will be asked. It helps avoid asking the participants questions that will not help answer the study questions (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). The researcher will be careful to avoid contradicting himself and confusing the clients. The questions will be clear, and the participants will easily answer them. Establishing the primary objective(s) before sending out the survey guarantees that the researcher will get the correct information on the study problem. Physical questionnaires and online surveys will be provided to the participants. They will be given a maximum of two weeks to ensure they give their feedback. Open-ended questions can be added to the questionnaires to deepen the data collected. Data analysis from the questionnaires will involve various steps.

After receiving the questionnaires, the next step will be cross-tabulating the quantitative results to compare how the youth of different ages responded to the questions. It will entail sorting out the demographics in the data to elucidate the trends (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). Analyzing open-end data will be done through software such as Monkey Data. Visualization of the data will be key so that the trend can easily be understood. It will be through plotting graphs, charts, and other data representation methods.

References

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