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We were saddened to read Steve Schulwitz' recent dispatch telling us youth voter registration and turnout were low in Northeast Michigan, despite a national push to get young people to the polls.
In Alpena County, for example, 62% of voters ages 18 to 21 turned out last month, compared to 81% of voters 60 and older, Schulwitz reported.
It was even worse in the city, where just 54% of young voters turned out on Nov. 3.
That's discouraging, for a number of reasons.
We hope, for example, that the apparent youth apathy this year is not a sign of the future, that today's youth don't continue to stay home on Election Day as they age. Schulwitz talked to one young voter who said she felt like her vote didn't matter, and it's worrisome to think she might carry that attitude with her in the future, depleting overall turnout in future elections.
But, even if today's young people eventually get involved as they get older, it's troubling they aren't involved today, because so many issues -- from college loans to criminal justice issues to employment law -- affect them today, and young people ought to have a say in how those issues are handled.
We agree with Alpena Clerk Anna Soik, who said democratic participation begins in the home, with parents telling young people long before they're old enough to vote about how important it is to do so.
We do not always get the result we want at the polls, but every voice does matter, and we encourage every adult to talk to the young people in their lives about the importance of participation.
This government is a government of the people only when people make themselves heard.
We need you, young people.
(THE ALPENA NEWS)