The youth vote in Maryland BALTIMORE, MD (wypr) - Along with every election comes another round of efforts to get out the youth vote. Still, young people continue to turn out at the polls in lower numbers than their older counterparts. WYPR's Justin Levy takes a look at youth attitudes toward tomorrow's election:





COLLEGE STUDENTS HAVE A LOT ON THEIR MINDS AS ELECTION TIME APPROACHES.

Justin: "Are you registered to vote?"
Charles: "Yes."
Justin: "Are you going to vote?"
Charles: "Uh, if I can get the time in because Tuesdays are my worst days. I have class at 8:30 in the morning and then 'til five."

THAT WAS TWENTY-THREE YEAR-OLD CHARLES, A PHYSICS MAJOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE COUNTY. SOME STUDENTS DO NOT CHOOSE TO MAKE TIME IN THEIR DAY FOR A TRIP TO THE NEAREST POLL.

MELVIN, AN 18-YEAR-OLD POLITICAL SCIENCE MAJOR AT COPPIN STATE UNIVERSITY, EXPLAINS ANOTHER REASON WHY SOME OF HIS CLASSMATES ARE NOT VOTING.

Melvin: "A lot of em are registered to vote, but not many of 'em are actually voting because some people see it as you're vote really not mattering because whoever these people want to put in office somehow will get in office so in some aspect people don't see it as your vote actually meaning anything."

A GENERAL DISTRUST IN THE POLITICAL PROCESS DETERS SOME YOUNG PEOPLE FROM VOTING. FARAJI MUHAMMAD IS PRESIDENT OF THE NEW LIGHT LEADERSHIP COALITION. HE WORKS TO DEVELOP LEADERSHIP ABILITIES IN YOUNG ADULTS.

Muhammad: "We're not putting all of our faith in politicians because time and time again, they have already shown that they really don't care about the issues of young people."

WHAT ISSUES ARE ON THE MINDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE?

Newman: "If you listen to conversations in class, students are interested in funding for education, in housing, in ending the hunger crisis. They're interested in what kind of community programs are there that would get kids off of the streets so that they can avoid getting into trouble."

THAT'S DR. VIVIAN NEWMAN, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AT COPPIN STATE.

Newman: "They want real choices in terms of a candidate, but they also want to see that when they participate something happens and a lot of students have seen that people participate and they don't see any change."

THIS MIXTURE OF DESIRE AND DISAPPOINTMENT UNDERLIES THE AMBIVALENCE MANY POTENTIAL YOUNG VOTERS FEEL ON ELECTION DAY. DAVID HOFFMAN IS THE COORDINATOR FOR LEADERSHIP AND ENGAGEMENT INITIATIVES AT UMBC.

Hoffman: "I think it's extremely important that students vote. And I would love to see them as motivated as possible. But as consumers of political information, I they are right to criticize the quality of information they're getting from the candidates in this election. I think they should expect more."

AT THE SAME TIME, HE HOPES THAT STUDENTS WILL DO MORE, AS WELL.

Hoffman: "There are a lot of ways to be an active, engaged citizen, and I would like to see students become involved in a way that goes beyond casting a vote every couple of years.

THE MORE THAT YOUNG PEOPLE BECOME INVESTED IN THEIR OWN SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES, HE SAYS, THE MORE LIKELY IT IS THEY WILL ALSO BEGIN TO FEEL INVESTED IN THE POLITICAL PROCESS.

I'M JUSTIN LEVY, REPORTING IN BALTIMORE, FOR 88.1, WYPR.

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