An interesting – if not alarming – statistic emerged recently from August's primary election.
Numbers released by Washington Secretary of State Sam Reid showed only 10 percent of voters between the ages of 18 to 34 thought it important enough to vote. And that's considering in 37 of Washington's 39 counties voters cast their ballots by mail, so it's not like the right is a rigorous task.
That population block comprises nearly a quarter of the registered voters in the state.
On the flipside, voters over age 55 – a 40 percent chunk of the electorate – returned ballots at a rate of 60 percent.
The Cheney Free Press editorial board looked at those numbers, and while we saw how this apathy could occur, why it does is a bit perplexing.
Those of us who fondly remembered our 20s and 30s recalled the time as one of being pretty carefree and disconnected too. Those still in that age group found how other things like daily survival and budgeting for the month might seem more important.
What is forgotten today, as it probably was way back when, is that what happens when one casts a vote has more effect on that home budget than one may realize.
Still, wouldn't you think that there would be more of a connection between your politics – local, state and national – and that daily world? The facts appear clear that the older generation are voting and making the rules, crafting the world the 20 and 30-somethings are going to have to live with after the Baby Boomers are gone.
Sad as it may seem we probably spend more time studying our next HDTV or electronic gadget purchase than who we'll send to Congress, or perhaps more importantly to the school board, city council or board of county commissioners.
So aside from being too busy to take maybe an hour every election cycle to study the issues and the people on the ballot, what might be other reasons for the apathy amongst this generation?
For one, this group has grown up amidst a constant influx of politics. You drive down the freeway and it's ads, ads, ads and the message becomes just a blur. The Internet and television provide additional spigots in what might just be an overload. So people in their 20s and 30s are possibly just fed up and don't pay any attention at all.
If they do pay attention to the message, the news never seems to have much good associated with it. And when it comes to the bombardment of political advertising, well that's just downright disgusting as the low-ball, hit below the belt approach unfortunately works.
Oh for the days when this nation was in its infancy and where, if you needed to advocate (a.k.a. advertise) for yourself for an office, you were deemed un-worthy.
So the message we send to the 20 and 30-somethings – as well as to the rest of the voting public – is to take that time you will spend considering the purchase of that new television and devote it to the upcoming vote.
Spend 30 minutes now rather than 30 years later trying to fix what your non-vote might have done.
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