Students need to make candidates care about youth vote

Although students might feel as though their vote in the presidential election may not matter in the short term, casting a vote now will prove to candidates they must pay attention to the youth vote in the future.

Candidates know they cannot win a major election just by motivating the members of their party — they need to mobilize other groups of voters. The youth vote is statistically one of the lowest-voting age groups in the country.  This should make the youth vote of extreme value to candidates.

But so far in this election season, neither candidate for president has specifically targeted the young voters. President Barack Obama took steps to capture the youth vote in 2008, but in this election, he has not taken the same measures to ensure young voters will vote for him.

This means the responsibility is on the young voters to make themselves be heard and become valuable to candidates. The steps to register and obtain an absentee ballot may seem time-consuming, but they’re steps students must take for their future. If students make voting a priority, it should not seem like a hassle.

Candidates spend time and money analyzing election results. They look at the demographics of who voted, where they voted and the characteristics of voters. They use this information to create special initiatives and bills to try to woo these voters in the future.

If students step up and vote in large numbers, candidates will see this and will be forced to react. The reaction will be to prioritize students in future elections.  But the responsibility falls on the students.

Students must give candidates a reason to pay attention.