Encouraging the Young to Vote,
WinkTV June 26, 2004
Moriah Netsch is on a mission, "I know a
lot of people who are 25 and older who have never registered to vote, who have
never cast a vote in their life," she told WINK News.
Therefore, she is using music to encourage people, especially young people, to
turn out at the polls. Netsch, the founder and president of the Lee County
Young Democrats, organized a voter registration and free concert at Cafe
Schmooze in downtown Fort Myers.
Nearly 100 people rocked to the music of five
different bands. One band, "The Quiet", came from
Goergia. Among the crowd were political candidates, elections office
representatives, and of course music fans.
17-year-old Erin Glossinger registered for
the first time, "Just knowing that my personal beliefs can affect
who's winning or just around here, that my personal opinions can affect what's
going on, that really means a lot to me."
21-year -old David Long also registered
today. He and others admit that one reason for low voter turnout among the
young is due to many young people thinking their votes don't count.
However, all the young people that spoke to WINK News said they also blame the
candidates for low young voter turnout:
"Politicians aren't really talking about
things kids care about and they're like this is boring...," said Long.
"They don't think we're going to
actually pay attention, but if they put out a little bit more and they put out
more effort and explain things, we'll probably take a bigger interest in
[politics] "said 15-year-old Brittany Nesbitt.
"They probably think we don't know
enough about politics at our age and our young feeble minds can't grasp the
concept of a lot of the things they talk about," said Glossinger.
But Clyde Bowles, a candidate for the Lee
County Commission, is taking interest. He was one of several office
seekers who attended the event. "The problem is we don't have
many opportunities where we can grab young people, shake them a little, grab
their ears and say, listen this is important....what we have to do is reach out
to young people and let them remember that their parents vote, and they vote for
a reason, now they have a reason to vote themselves."
Netsch and other attendees hope that more
people will register and exercise the freedom for which so many
fought, "It's your duty as an American to vote and affect change in the
world, " said Long. "You have a voice, one person can affect so
much," said Netsch.
This event is the first of the Lee County
Young Democrats organization. The group was recently chartered last week
when they were officially recognized by the Young Democrats of America and the
Young Democrats of Florida.
