Newswise — The highly contested race for president has spurred a sharp increase in participation from young voters. J. Cherie Strachan, an authority on youth participation in American politics, says that politicians may need to change their approach, however, in order to keep this age group engaged until November. She is available for comment on the subject.
A few of Strachan's initial thoughts on the subject:
"Until the recent 2008 primary elections, youth voter turnout had been in a near steady state of decline, falling about 15 percent since 18 year olds received the right to vote in 1971. Yet young people have doubled and even tripled their participation in some of this season's key state primaries."
"This participation may be a sign that the millennial generation, who has been very active in community service and volunteering, has decided to focus its energies on presidential politics as well."
"Yet this generation is especially alienated by divisive partisanship and politics as usual. Hence, keeping them in the political fold may require politicians to change their approach."
Strachan is an American politics authority in the areas of youth participation, civic education, local campaign practices, and political culture and U.S. governors. She is the author of "High-Tech Grass Roots," which explores the use and effects of sophisticated campaign practices in local parties. She also has presented numerous papers at national and international academic conferences, including her research article "An Argument for Deliberative Civic Education in the Political Science Classroom." Her current research projects include investigating the effects of different civic education messages on young people and the norms of regional political culture that promote democracy.
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