Political Participation and the Young

THIS COLUMN is about politics, but it's not the angle I anticipated when I put material I had saved for the column in two piles - one for each major Presidential candidate. My deadline and that of any of the courts do not match, but there is one certainty about the process that is much more alarming than any delay in deciding who will finally take the oath of office as our 43rd President. Take a look at the ages of those who voted. Then ask yourself just how ferociously candidates in upcoming national elections will have to battle for each and every voter, for there may be very few of them. Among young people between 18 and 29 years of age, only 17% came to the polls, the lowest turnout since 18-year-olds first cast their ballots for President in 1972. True, the candidates did not pitch their campaign rhetoric toward young people or their interests, unless they were the rare ones who think about retirement benefits as they begin their first jobs. (Ralph Nader, however, did energize them enough that he gained 5% of their votes - the percentage he so wanted among the whole electorate.) The participation of young people in national elections has been declining ever since 1972, dropping from half of those eligible to vote in that election to 20% in 1998. The proportion of this age group that voted was expected to improve in a Presidential election, but then came the embarrassing totals from November 2000. Older voters actually don't have anything to brag about. Despite the money spent and almost two years of a steady diet of national campaigning, only 51% of the voting-age public turned up at the polls. What is most puzzling about the civic participation of young people, though, is that they tend to want to be good citizens - just outside of the political process. More than half of those under age 24 say they have volunteered for an organization, but only 16% of this age group did so for a political cause. They are quick to define citizenship as helping others, but they are reluctant to see it as political involvement. One reason for the low interest of young people in the political process is the influence of their families' attitudes. A survey and focus group commissioned by the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) revealed that parents' voting behavior and interest in politics often determine the actions of young people. Forty percent of those young people who voted in 1998 had parents who vote in every election. The percentage who voted among those whose parents vote infrequently or not at all was only 20%. Less than half of the young people surveyed talk about politics with their parents. Those who do so vote at much higher rates. The NASS data also make one wonder exactly what goes on in history or social studies classes under the guise of civics education. As reported in the November electronic newsletter of the National Education Goals Panel, more than half of the 15- to 24-year-olds surveyed faulted their schools for not giving them enough information about voting. Only one- fourth of the young people could answer basic questions about politics, such as the name of the governor of their state or the length of the term of members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Data from the 1998 National Assessment of Educational Progress "report card" in civics show similar ignorance. One-third of students at all three grade levels tested (fourth, eighth, and 12th grades) did not have even a basic knowledge of civics. Only about one-fourth reached the proficient level. Yet more than 70% of the students in grades 4 and 8 reported that they had studied the U. …