Arriving at the polling place on the morning of Nov. 8th, how many young, fresh, eager faces can voters expect to see? In my opinion, not too many. Young voters are historically notorious for neglecting their right to vote. According to US News, in 2014 only 20 percent of voters aged 18-29 cast a vote, making it the lowest youth turnout ever recorded. 

Researchers at Stanford and the University of Michigan found that in the 2008 election, which was dubbed “The Year of the Youth Vote,” the Barack Obama campaign only reached 23 out of every 100 youth voters. Doesn’t really seem like a percentage worth celebrating, does it?

Taking into account the principal figures in this year’s election, it is pretty clear that a large number of millennials hold loyalty to the independent candidate Bernie Sanders. This brings about the glaring question of where exactly these millennial voters were during the primaries?

If all of the youth that initially promised their vote to Sanders would have acted upon their words, it is very likely that the current list of presidential candidates would look a bit different.

Here lies a major flaw in our voting system. The people’s preferences are not being taken into account because the people are neglecting their civic duty as voters in a democracy and young people are more guilty than anyone.

So what is keeping millennials away from the polls? Experts say that the mobile lifestyles of many young people may physically keep them from being able to vote. Moving from place to place also takes away a person’s sense of citizenship in an area, in turn making politics seem rather insignificant. 

Another reason could be the fact that the youth do not deem any of the candidates worth voting for. A trend among millennials is the desire for a charismatic leader who preaches liberalism and revolution. This is the opposite of what is favored among older voters.

One survey conducted by The New York Times found that voters ages 18-29 said that the traits they valued most in a candidate were integrity, level-headedness and authenticity in that order. Very few participants even mentioned political and business experience.

Because the older generation makes up such a large portion of the active voter population, many campaigns focus on this group and in turn neglect the younger generation.

Older people are known for casting a vote whether they like any of the candidates or not – this is most likely because they feel it is their civic duty. This is not the case for many millennials, who have a tendency to disregard their vote if there is not a candidate they think highly of.

A prominent saying I have been hearing is the notion that a vote in November consists of “determining the lesser of two evils.” As with any major election, there are going to be flaws and injustices on both ends. It seems that the force driving young people to the polls, if any, is their desire to keep that determined greater evil out of office. However, to do so they must show up to the polls.