The Donkeys and the Elephants Battle for Gen Y’s Vote

With Senate and House elections coming up November 7th of this year, the political parties are trying to figure out how to steer Gen Y voters into their camps. Gen Y voter participation has increased over the past few presidential elections with national campaigns such as MTV’s Rock The Vote, but will it last? It seems as though some people are frustrated with what they consider “pushing” Gen Y to hit the polls.

There are a few major topics like the War on Terror, rising oil prices, and health care that affect every voter regardless of age, but Gen Y’s interests run the gamut, so what makes political parties think that there is some magic formula for attracting 18-25 year old voters? The trick for politicians is to find out what issues specific groups of Gen Yers care about, present a multi-faceted front, and make voters feel like their vote matters -- and not give up so easily when an impersonalized mass voting campaign doesn’t satisfy every single person under 30.

It may be tougher to get Gen Y to pick a side and vote along partisan lines than older generations of voters, by Generation Y is more likely to voice their opinions for issues they truly care about, so gaining Gen Y loyalty is crucial. Voting campaigns need to catch up with the times. Gen Yers typically do not find pages of statistics and political jargon appealing. Maybe those 50something politicians should hire a 20something Gen Yer to communicate to his or her own peers, because who knows Gen Y better than… Gen Y?

Read more from Ryan Blethen at The Seattle Times.