information:extraction
Variables affecting the youth vote in the United States

According to a 1998 study, young people at the time were complaining that those in politics did not communicate with them. Political candidates and their campaigns know, through past election data, that youth are not a reliable voting group and choose to spend their campaign dollars on those who are more likely to turn out to vote. For this reason, candidates tend to focus on issues that pertain to their targeted voters to gain their support, further discouraging youth voters. The discouraged youth complete the cycle of neglect by not turning out to vote, proving to candidates that the youth are not a reliable voting group. "Elected officials respond to the preferences of voters, not non-voters," therefore ignoring the youth of America who do not turn out to vote.