Today, hundreds of thousands of citizens across Bucks County’s 304 voting districts and 54 municipalities will take time out of an inconvenient day to vote.
Some will visit recreational centers, elementary schools or even senior centers to cast their ballot for the 2014 General Election – but many people, according to recent surveys will reject the opportunity and just stay home.
Advertisements
Young people especially, have been historically dignified as turning out for voting in record low numbers. Although 68 percent of those between the ages of 18 and 29 are registered to vote, only 19 percent consider themselves politically active, according to the Harvard Institute of Politics.
These voting numbers are especially low during primary elections and municipal elections.
According to a recent report by the United States Census Bureau, although voting is arguably the most important civic opportunity given to citizens, young people have continued to stand out for their low levels of electoral participation. In fact, according to data, Americans 65 years of age and older are voting at a consistently higher rate than any other age group.
Advertisements
Getting young people, or just the general population to register to vote doesn’t seem to be the issue. The process has been modernized in a fairly impactful way with the increased use and understanding by the government of technology and the internet – and for younger people, clubs and groups which encourage registering to vote are just as popular as opportunities to apply for credit cards on college campuses.
Your Ultimate 2014 General Election Guide
Getting the population to register doesn’t prove to be the issue. In fact throughout Bucks County there are 174,763 registered Republicans, 187,007 registered Democrats and 70,880 registered as other. Yet for the last municipal election, only 24.18 percent of Bucks came out to vote.
Advertisements
In fact through LevittownNow.com’s reporting of the last few elections, turnout seems to average at about 20 percent through the Bristol, Tullytown, Levittown and Langhorne areas.
Voters do show up in record numbers when it comes time to vote for their president. In fact the last General Election that extended the term of President Barack Obama in 2012, saw 73.99 percent participation in Bucks. The April primary just a few months before that? Only 17.01 percent of Bucks residents came out to vote. The second lowest turnout for the county in the last three years.
Maybe a good portion of the population is extensively busy on election days. There is work and errands and things to be done between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Advertisements
However it seems like many who don’t vote aren’t using the excuse they are just too busy. They say they are against it, that their vote doesn’t really matter or count in the grand scheme of things. So instead of 100 percent of Bucks County voting for the politicians it chooses, on average only 20 percent are. That means by not voting, on average in non-presidential elections, one person votes and makes the decision for every five people.
According to the United States Census Bureau, young people between the ages of 18 and 29 were ten percent less likely to vote in the last election than the one before it – and with each passing year the percentage gets lower.
Advertisements
President Franklin D. Roosevelt had to say the following about the importance of voting, “Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting.”
What is your take on voting? Tell us below in the comments, or on our Facebook page.
