Young voters on Wayne State’s campus and across the nation are poised to have their say at the ballot box on Nov. 4, and they aren’t shy about expressing their opinions in the meantime.
Moreover, they are starting to get more interested in the political process, raising the prospect that many thousands more of them will vote than in the past. That, at least, is what many local young voters are saying, and national polls seem to confirm it.
Charles Wright, a freshman and Barack Obama supporter, is an example of the kind of engaged voter found at the university.
“This is the chance for young voters to let their voices be heard,” Wright said. “Obama is the one whose policies will allow their voice to be heard.”
Some of those key policy issues, along with the need for a new direction, have sparked a groundswell of support from the youth vote. Students are especially interested in capturing support for education, among other issues, and said learning should be more within one’s means.
Take, for example, 18-year-old freshman Nina Marcus, an Obama supporter and first time voter. She says she likes his message of change, and his ability to bring young people into the fold.
“This is such a new, groundbreaking election — a black president, woman vice president — we need this change,” Marcus said. “Trying to pay for school, trying to find a job, and the same old thing we have is not working.
“Obama wants to make college more affordable for us right now.”
Similarly, Jeremy Whiting, a Democrat and WSU urban studies major, believes in what he calls “Obama’s politics of inclusion.”
“I agree on the social issues like more tolerance toward minorities, gay issues and the war in Iraq,” Whiting said. “I think the war is probably one of the most misguided things we have ever done, and hopefully we can get out of there.
“Young people see McCain as old and stale. We need something different to make a difference. “
On the other hand, Louis Meizlish, a first-year law student and McCain supporter, said that in order to be an effective president, experience matters, especially in a time of war.
“With all the national security challenges that the country is going to face in the next four years, it is important to have a president that knows those issues and knows the major players on the world stage,” Meizlish said. “With Obama and Biden, you have two people who have been senators, which is an important job, obviously, but that is not executive experience.”
Most students interviewed seemed to overwhelmingly favor Obama to McCain and that is reflected in the latest nationwide poll conducted by the Wall Street Journal, which stated, “Voters between 18-34 years favor the Obama-Biden ticket at 60 percent to McCain-Palin ticket 33 percent.”
Still, will the nation’s youth support their candidate by casting their vote? According to the Web site rockthevote.com the answer is absolutely “yes.”
“This is shaping up to be the year of the young voter,” the site reports. “As of March 2008, more than 500,000 18-29 year olds had already used their voter registration site to register to vote.”
It also said, “young voters have more than doubled their turnout in 2008 primaries and caucuses and by November will have registered more than two million young voters.”
USA Today agreed, writing, “This year, young people have the most at stake because they will live with the long-term consequences of the decisions our leaders make today.”
Brad Bidwell, a law student, believes those decisions can no longer be ignored.
“Obviously, these last four years have essentially been a failure both here and abroad,” he said, “and I think Obama is going to bridge the divide. He is actually looking to be bi-partisan as well.
“I know that the young vote will come out. I know that Obama has been compared to JFK. He represents a lot of what the youth believe in, and I think for that reason we are going to come out and support him.”
While Meizlish gives Obama credit for inspiring the youth into the political process, he said it does not make him the right leader for the country.
“He is a very talented person, but in my opinion that doesn’t make him qualified to be president,” Meizlish said. “He’s served in the state government, he’s been a U.S. Senator for four years, but I compare that with McCain’s experience and it comes down to McCain and all of the things he has accomplished.”
