WASHINGTON (AP) – Mairekk Griffiths, a 26-year-old chef from a suburb of Denver, doesn’t think he’ll pay much attention American politics Unless there is a fundamental change.
“If there’s a chance that another party could win, I’d be interested in that,” Griffith said. Last year’s presidential election But like many of his ages, he doesn’t consider the vote worth it.
“I can’t say that voting is important,” Griffith said. “It’s just a choice of the worst option. It’s something I remember my whole life. Both sides are bad, but this side is so bad.”
Young people like Griffiths are less likely to engage with American politics than older Americans, and are less likely to say that voting is important. Associated Press-NORC Civil Service Research Center. Young people are less likely to say that even those who follow closely in politics are “very important” than older people who have comparable issues such as economic, government spending, and healthcare.
The findings point to a broad sense of disillusionment among young people about the country’s political system, like Griffiths, even if they still end up voting. Alberto Medina, who heads the Center for Information and Research on Civic Engagement at Tufts University, which studies youth and politics, said youth turnout reached record levels in the 2020 election, and was high last year.
“There’s a sense that democracy is not working for young people. There’s a lack of belief that democracy can even improve their lives,” Medina said. “At the same time, we live in an age of high voting among young people.”
Leave from political parties and politics
Another indication of general alienation from politics shows that young adults are more likely to reject the label of political parties. Approximately one-third of adults under the age of 30 are identified as political independents who are not leaning towards any major political parties, compared to 17% of Americans over the age of 60.
Polls also find that young people are far less likely to follow politics in close terms than older people.
Only about two in ten adults under the age of 30 say they follow American politics “very” or “very” closely, compared to about a third of all Americans. This is even higher among adults over the age of 60. 45% of this group say they follow US politics very closely at least.
Beyond among teenagers is more likely AP-NORC votes starting in May 44% of teens aged 13 to 17 report “not very close” or “not very close at all” following US politics.
Meanwhile, about two-thirds of adults under the age of 30 say it’s “very” or “very” to vote, compared to almost nine people over the age of 45 who say it’s “very” important.
Some of these habits can change as people age. Younger people are traditionally less likely to vote than older people, and voter participation tends to increase with age. Politics involvement may follow a similar pattern.
28-year-old Brittany Diaz closely follows politics for extraordinary reasons. Her eldest son is seven years old and is obsessed with the news and watches it every night. Diaz, a Republican living in the outskirts of Albuquerque, New Mexico, admits that it is rare among the age group as he decided to pay attention to politics when he had his first child at the age of 20.
“I have kids now, so I’m like, ‘I have to worry about it,'” she said.
By following closely in politics, Diaz is different from many other women under the age of 30.
Women in her age group are less likely to say they follow our politics than younger men, polls find. Approximately a quarter of men under the age of 30 say they follow politics “very” or “very” compared to 16% of women in the same age group. And about four in ten young women say they follow our politics of “not very close” or “not very close at all” compared to about a quarter of young men.
Reduce investment in important issues
For some issues such as the economy and healthcare, the gap between the youngest and oldest Americans is not that big. Approximately eight in 10 Americans under the age of 30 and nine in 10 Americans over the age of 60 say the economy is personally “very” or “very” important.
But seniors are very much preferred to say topics that took the central stage during the first six months of President Donald Trump’s second term, including immigration and government spending, but are personally “very” or “very” important compared to Americans under the age of 30.
This applies to topics such as the Middle East situation. Israel-Hamas War It broke out. I say that only about four in 10 adults under the age of 30 are very important to them personally, compared to about six in 10 Americans over the age of 60.
For some, that lack of interest may be related to the sense that the political system does not respond to their needs.
At 18, Blake Mahler has just begun to pay attention to politics. As Trump’s tax cuts and spending bill The University of Nebraska’s ambitious geology major has passed Republican-controlled Congress. Medicaid cut And it increases Immigration Enforcement Fund.
“It seems they didn’t take me seriously,” Mahler said. “I know they have to represent the whole state, but the whole state doesn’t agree with me, but that could have been a different experience.”
However, he is determined not to give up politics. “In the future,” he said.
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Riccardi reported from Denver.
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The AP-NORC vote for 1,437 adults was conducted from July 10-14 using samples drawn from Norc’s probability-based Amerispeak panel designed to represent the US population. The margin for sampling errors across adults is either positive or negative 3.6 percentage points.
