Advice for young Florida voters from a senior citizen

Sally Butsin
| It’s your turn

I am concerned that the turnout of the younger generation is often low. For example, a research report by The Civics Center found that in 2022, only 25% of 18-year-olds were registered to vote in Miami-Dade County. Broward County did slightly better at 30%.

Fortunately, in Leon County, the percentage of registered young voters aged 18-25 is much higher at 76%. But will they come to the elections?

Do they understand that their future depends on who is in office and makes the laws and regulations that affect their health, safety, and economic well-being? Do they just not care?

Lately, I’ve been getting calls from friends asking for advice on ballot initiatives like constitutional amendments and judicial retention. These friends were distracted by personal matters such as illness and travel. They were unable to attend candidate forums, read opinion columns, or follow candidate debates.

Of course, their mailboxes are littered with nasty fliers labeling the candidates as child molesters, chronic liars, and the like. The two hotly contested marijuana and abortion amendments also contained a lot of conflicting information. But many items on the long two-way ballot remain opaque unless you do some additional research.

I have a theory that young voters are probably just as, if not more, intimidated than my senior citizen friends. Maybe they’re afraid to vote because they’ll feel stupid if they don’t know how to vote on more obscure issues. Bubbling in forms can be anxiety-inducing on a test, especially if you don’t know the answer.

My advice is to vote for the candidates and issues you feel strongly about, and leave the rest blank. This is much better than not voting at all.

Most experts agree that these elections are one of the most successful in history. At stake is the future of democracy, not to mention a woman’s right to control her own body. It is also an important historic election with the opportunity to finally elect a woman president.

So I am asking young people, do not hide in the shadows because you are ashamed that you do not understand all the points in the ballot. You are busy studying, raising children, and working one or two jobs. I understand you don’t have the luxury of digging in the weeds like us pensioners.

The worst thing you can do is not vote at all. Please do your duty as a citizen of the largest democracy in the world and cast your vote. We need you. Your future is at stake.

Sally Butzin was a past president of the League of Women Voters of Tallahassee. She just did not turn 80 years old. The opinions expressed in this column are her own and do not represent the official positions of the League.

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