Many people blame college students and start to question the ability of young voters but with all of the problems they run into when it comes to politics and voting, the question isn't whether young voters deliver but, "Its can the young voter deliver and effectively?"
The Transition to and from new areas for College Affects Student's Knowledge of Surrounding Politics
Demographics regarding politics and voting varies widely in the county of America. When it comes to students in higher education institutions, similar to any demographic, results after voting are interesting. The college students are the majority of young educated people.
When it comes to voting in elections, having an education plays a major role but there are also more factors that are starting to show in the results of elections. A problem today surrounding voter turnout is that many students are educated along general areas but are also in an awkward stage in their lives with transition to adulthood.
 |
| Figure 2 http://www.admissions.umd.edu/about/JustTheFacts.php |
Student are most likely voting in another county-- let alone state, they are not familiar with-- resulting in uneducated people voting.
Based off the University of Maryland- College Park Student's Demographics, shown in Figure 2, Twenty-three percent of students are out of state students. Out of thirty- thousand students, that adds up to be about seven-thousand students voting in a state they are not familiar with. The numbers only increase when you break down Maryland residents and the counties they come from. This adds more students voting in a county, Prince George county, they are not familiar with.
Typically during this stage in an young adult's life they have been in a stable area for majority of the their life to learn about the politics in their area.
The transition to another city, state, or country, because of college, can cause a student to become uneducated regarding politics. These students that have moved around, will not know the politicians or issues in their new area. All they are familiar with is how things are at home. Therefore when it comes time to vote, some will vote and some will not.
For those who do vote and are not informed with important information needed, they are causing a disadvantage to what the outcomes could be. Uneducated student voters do not intend to effect the voting outcome negatively-- they only know the importance of voting therefore they still vote instead.
Students Who are Informed but lack Interest due to Understanding Politics
For students who are educated with politics, they are familiar with how American politics work. Sometimes knowing the operation and process can cause a lack of trust and interest.
In a study conducted by the Institute of Politics at Harvard University, over 60 percent of college undergraduates did not trust the Federal government to "do the right thing all or most of the time." Also, nearly two-thirds of college students felt selfish interests, rather than the public good, motivate elected officials.
Many students know the background of elections, therefore they most likely will not participate in the voting process at all. According to the same Harvard study over 85 percent of undergraduates believed that community volunteerism is more effective than political engagement in solving problems within the community and over 60 percent felt that volunteerism is more effective in addressing national issues as well.
Therefore one overall educated person, in this case, the average college student would choose to be physically active when it comes to activism rather than voting.
