It’s too late for Brexit, but young voters can still stop Trump

‘I’m sorry Bernie isn’t going to be the nominee you hoped for’


On Thursday June 23rd, England officially screwed itself over with a narrow vote to leave the European Union. This has since plunged the country, and its economy, into chaos, with few seeing a way out.

Many young people, who have grown up with the pleasure of being able to travel easily across Europe to live or work, wanted to remain for that reason. They’ve grown up with Europe in their bones, and they don’t want to see themselves isolated from it. Older Brits, born before the creation of the EU, believe that migrants from Eastern Europe are taking jobs and bringing down wages; they wanted England to have more control over itself. Does this sound familiar? If you’re thinking of Donald Trump and his “build a wall” argument, you wouldn’t be far off.

The majority of British citizens that voted to leave the EU were older people, “pensioners,” people in rural England, and lower-class citizens. Eighteen- to 24-year-olds, 73% of whom voted to remain, will be forced to deal with the future consequences. The fact that the vote was 52%-48%, means that young people could likely have changed the outcome, had more of them actually voted.

% who got through our final poll turnout filtered by age group:

18-24: 36%
25-34: 58%
35-44: 72%
45-54: 75%
55-64: 81%
65+: 83%

Low voter turnout is not original to millennials. Generations before us have been the same way. In 1976, one of the first elections in which 18 year olds were allowed to vote, only 13% actually showed up at the polls. In 1998, 5% of eligible youth voters turned out to vote; since then, the voting rate for youth has steadily declined. Youth are generally considered low priority in any campaign, because they’re deemed hard to reach.

Take the 2014 midterm elections: only 19% of 18-29 year olds turned out to vote. Many young people turned out to vote for Obama in 2008, and in turn for Bernie Sanders during his campaign. They felt as though someone was speaking to them, that finally someone was going to change the government — mainly make college cheaper and find them jobs.

But, when they don’t get what they want, millennials tend to write off politics, turn on their heels, and stop giving a damn. It’s happened before and it’s happening now. Many people even said that they voted to leave as a “protest” vote, because they were unhappy with the UK government. I’m sure most everyone voting for Trump is, in some way, unhappy with the government, but that doesn’t mean you should support him. These “protest voters” have accomplished their tasks of sending a strong signal to the British government — very strong actually. But, I’m sure the majority of those voters are seriously re-considering their decision; the petition for a second referendum doesn’t have 3.5 million signatures for nothing.

If Donald Trump thought Brexit was a “great thing,” Americans should be concerned. The second most popular google search was “What is the EU,”  not before, but after  the vote. An uneducated voter is dangerous. Even more dangerous? Voters who don’t care. Sanders fans: I’m sorry Bernie isn’t going to be the nominee you hoped for. Past generations could afford not to show up and vote, we can’t.

Young voters: bad things happen when we don’t vote. The vote could have swung the other way in England if younger people actually turned out to polls. If Donald Trump is to be stopped in November, it will take an even higher voter turnout — millennials being especially important. Neither candidate is particularly popular, which makes it hard to cultivate an interest in politics. But look at the UK right now, and don’t let young Americans get screwed as well because you ‘don’t care enough to vote.’

It may be too late for England, whose younger generation will feel the effects of this decision most, but it’s not too late for young Americans, I hope, to still stop Donald Trump.