Early Ballot Returns Show Low Turnout From Younger Generation
By Jeff Todd
DENVER (CBS4)- With less than a week before the polls close on Election Day, the early returns for ballots is seeing sparse participation from young Coloradans.
"I think that young people are often discouraged by the political process and really just need a little bit of a push," said Sarah Snead who organizes for the issue-based Fight4HER.
"We're trying to make it more accessible, when you walk outside you see vote signs everywhere with arrows pointing to where students can go."
Snead and a volunteer were "tabling" inside the Tivoli Student Union on Denver's Auraria Campus on Thursday urging students to vote.
A total of 1,100,690 ballots were returned as of Nov. 1. But only about 15 percent are from voters under the age of 40.
"I am hopeful we will get a push from young people," she said.
Fight4HER stands for Health, Empowerment and Rights.
"Ultimately we're working to pass the health empowerment and rights act. It's over $8 billion in global health funding from the U.S. that's effected and essentially stifled because of this policy," Snead said.
She's seeing more people interested in issues as oppose to political party, but the reality in the numbers shows many maligned young people not exercising their civic duty yet.
"I think it's always an uphill battle. Even if we got 50 percent voter turnout from young people in the midterms that's not enough," Snead said.
CBSDENVER.COM: Politics Section
Jeff Todd joined the CBS4 team in 2011 covering the Western Slope in the Mountain Newsroom. Since 2015 he's been working across the Front Range in the Denver Headquarters. Follow him on Twitter @CBS4Jeff.