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Democrats Must Prioritize Turnout To Win In November

Photo by: Nathan J. Fish

 

  Commentary: Turnout. Turnout. Turnout.

 

That’s what all the noise is about, all the money spent, all the arguments on television and in your social media mentions: It’s about making selections on a ballot. That’s the deal.

 

Yet the people eligible to vote who actually participate remains a minority. Most people who can vote do not. In 2016, tens of millions of eligible voters stayed home. It would not have taken many of those voters, in just three states, to change the outcome of that election.

 

Forget about Vladimir Putin, Michael Bloomberg’s money, or the machinations of the Democratic National Committee: our elections are influenced by nonvoters.

 

There had been some hopeful signs lately when it comes to the new generation, between the ages of 18 to 29. In 2016, younger voter participation increased while other groups declined. And then, in the 2018 midterm elections, participation by that group more than doubled since 2014 – yet that was still only 28 percent of the eligible voters in that group.

 

And on Super Tuesday, when 14 states held Democratic Party primaries, participation by those younger voters eligible to vote – sank.

 

USA Today reported that the younger generation participated less in southern states particularly, and curiously, those who did vote showed less support for Sen. Bernie Sanders than in 2016.

 

Well, aside from being 4 years old, Sanders hasn’t changed much. Once again, he is offering voters a chance an alternative to the center-right Third Way approach to politics the Democrats have offered since the late 1980’s, a return to New Deal-style social programs for the 21st century: free college, universal health insurance, and so on.

 

That’s a program that has been popular with younger voters, who have filled his rallies and watched the campaign’s video network where every event is streamed live, and even adapted conventions from online gaming to drive an impressive fundraising effort among individual donors.

 

All that is terrific. It suggests ways in which voters could actually use their collective abilities to select candidates rather than having candidates pushed on them from the top of a political party.

 

But if Super Tuesday is an indication, they’re not finishing the job: You actually have to vote for your candidate. And not only did fewer young voters participate, but those who did voted for Sanders in smaller numbers.

 

Reason suggests a lot of young people who actually support Sanders, who view him as an opportunity to redirect the Democratic Party and challenge existing networks of power, didn’t vote. And it’s all a waste of time and money if people don’t vote.

 

This is also a warning about the general election in November. Even as the party’s center-right lines up behind Joe Biden – whose campaign was on the ropes and out of money two weeks ago – it needs to learn the real lesson of 2016: Turnout. Turnout. Turnout. If we have another year where tens of millions of voters stay home, either because of voting restrictions or polls being closed or simple disdain for the candidates and the process, the Democrats will lose the presidency again and lose ground in Congress.