How Do We Get Young People to Vote? - At the Polls Series

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4.8 • 585 Ratings

🗓️ 6 October 2020

⏱️ 15 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

American voting rates have hovered in the mid-50s for most of recent history. As these things go, that is not great. But it’s even worse with younger voters. In the 2014 midterms, less than 20 percent of voters under 30 cast a ballot. We saw a shift in the 2018 midterms and now the question is how do we sustain the influx of young voters? As of this year, millennials and Gen Z make up approximately 37% of the national electorate. The full participation of America’s younger voters could radically shift the political landscape. Michael McDonald, professor of Political Science at the University of Florida, and David Hogg, March For Our Lives Co-Founder and Board Member, join to discuss.

Transcript

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0:00.0	The White House, the Congress, the prospect of change.
0:03.2	The importance of each and every vote.
0:04.7	Protect and to preserve our voting system.
0:07.5	From the ACLU, this is at the polls, a special mini-series on, you guessed it, voting.
0:15.1	I'm Molly McGrath, a voting rights lawyer and organizer, and your host for this series.
0:20.7	You're right to vote of all of our young people.
0:24.2	It belongs to you.
0:25.3	The machinery of democracy should work for everyone everywhere.
0:29.7	This week, we'll be answering the question, what does it take to get younger voters to the polls?
0:35.6	And stay tuned.
0:36.6	At the end of the episode, we'll help you figure out
0:39.0	how to make sure that your mail and ballot is counted. Okay, so you're ready, folks? I'm about to
0:45.4	blow your mind. In an election, if you want to win, you've got to get people to vote for you.
0:52.8	I know, right? I hope every American will turn out and vote. Every
0:57.5	American, every member of his family and show the world how strongly we believe in democracy.
1:03.3	But getting everyone to the polls, particularly certain age groups, has eluded many candidates and organizers.
1:12.2	And it's not for lack of trying.
1:14.5	What are you looking at?
1:15.5	Do it look like someone who's never voted before?
1:18.2	Vote, baby, vote.
1:20.1	Are you registered, baby?
1:22.1	Vote. Vote. Vote. Vote. Vote. Vote. Vote.
	...

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