To vote in the United States, you can’t simply go cast a ballot. In most states, you first have to register. If you’ve registered, you have to have state-issued identification to then actually vote. If you don’t have identification, you might have to pay a fee to obtain it. If you don’t live in an early voting state—or one with flexible absentee rules—you have to take time from work to cast your ballot. If you live in states like Georgia or Florida, you may have to wait for hours before you can step into a voting booth. If you can’t drive or aren’t mobile, you may have to find a ride. If you’re middle-aged with a stable job and a fixed-address, this is straightforward. If you’re anyone else, it’s less so. And if your life is defined by instability —in location, in housing, in employment—any single obstacle might be enough to discourage you from voting altogether. That might be why turnout for the youngest voters in the electorate is lower than most other groups. America lowered the voting age to 18 with the 26th Amendment in 1971. In 1972, nearly half of eligible young people turned out to vote. Since then, the voting rate for 18- to 24-year-olds in presidential elections has hovered between 30 and 45 percent, with average turnout of about 40 percent according to data from the Census Bureau . For midterm elections, the average is closer to 20 percent. More striking than the low averages is the consistency of the difference with
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Source: Breaking News
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