Many people are often concerned with the youth vote, claiming that teenagers don’t care about political issues and won’t attend the polls. As the election approaches, it leaves many to wonder whether the youth of our nation will step up.
With Washington High School being the center of local Cedar Rapids news in regards to how its student body has hosted many walkouts and protests throughout the years, this leaves the question: Will Washington’s student body carry their activism to the polls?
Conner Brown, a senior this year who will be voting in his first election, emphasized the importance of the youth vote stating, “Right now, this election is gonna be one of the largest elections with new voters. So, we’re getting the most new voters in this election, and so this election more than ever will have younger voters swaying it more than any elections in the past.”
With around 12 million youth (ages 18-23), this younger generation takes up about 12% of the potential votes.
Senior Rylee Steffen, who will also be voting in her first election, urges her fellow students to vote saying, “We are the future so we should be voting for the future. I think it’s important that we look out for ourselves and for our futures in this country.”
The research in a recent survey hosted through The Surveyor’s Instagram agrees with the claims that both Brown and Steffen have made with 79% of eligible voters saying they plan on voting and 71% of those eligible saying they’re registered to vote.
Rodney Egel, a government teacher at Washington High School acknowledges the political passions of high school students noting, “I can definitely say…. the students that are engaged, are very passionate.”
Voting at Washington High School leans heavily Democratic, with 68% of students saying they would vote for the Democrat presidential candidate in the 2024 election. The rest of the student vote was split evenly, with 16% of students saying they would vote for the Republican candidate and 16% saying they would for an Independent candidate.
Regardless of political affiliation, when asked about key issues in this election that matter most to them, teenagers’ answers stay the same: the economy.
“What matters most to me? Um… I’d say the economy. Keeping jobs high and inflation low.” said Brown.
Steffen echoed a similar sentiment, saying, “Things like economic policy and that stuff definitely matters.”
Ultimately, regardless of why teens are voting or what they’re voting for, it’s clear that many students at Washington have a desire to be involved. In the US there’s a 23% youth turnout for voting according to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement. When comparing that to Washington voters, our school has 56% more youth participation.
