Youth vs. politics

 “Young people are not apathetic towards voting; they are apathetic towards the system.” 

Edgar Espino, a 25-year-old, attended Central Washington University and obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with minors in economics and Spanish. He is the campus organizer for The Washington Bus, a non-profit, non-partisan organization that aims to involve young people in politics. The goal of the Washington Bus is to break the barriers that young people face as they get into politics. 

According to Espino, some of the barriers that discourage young people from joining politics include “political jargon,” which he says can be “quite intimidating” for those who are not familiar with the political scene. Espino adds that “feeling like they don’t belong” is something that intimidates the youth from joining politics, especially with the “generational gap,” as most politicians are much older than them. This prevents the young people from seeing their colleagues as “peers.” As a result, “The ages of 18 to 24 have the lowest voting turnout,” continues Espino, and those between 60 and 65 years old tend to vote the most. 

Espino emphasizes that voting habits are important to build, especially at a young age, as it has been statistically proven that “if you vote in three elections in a row, it becomes a habit for you to vote.” Although he admits that politics can be “boring” and “depressing to deal with,” especially with all the issues that Americans face, Espino says that the Washington Bus has been an outlet for making politics seem “fun and relatable to young people.” He says that he has achieved this by engaging with young people in an environment that they are familiar with, bringing along DJs so that the young can feel connected to the political scene in a lighter mood. 

The Washington Bus is currently focusing on issues that affect the youth, such as the “wealth tax, public transportation, and ensuring that students have access to free meals.” The Washington Bus is “by young people, for young people.” Espino tells us that the youngest member of the organization is 19 years old, and the eldest is 35 years old. He goes on to add that it is evident that the Washington Bus has a youthful energy, with its poster designs being “very cute, very elegant, very demure.”

Espino states that he is proud that the efforts he and his colleagues are putting in are paying off, as the statistics suggest that “more young people are turning out to vote.” “Vote in your local elections,” Espino emphasizes, “because people who run the city have a more direct impact on your life than even the president does.” He adds that even though voting is a “tool that can be used to instigate change,” there are other things, like activism, that can be used to create a positive change in society. 

Espino shares that the philosophy of The Washington Bus is to “meet them where they’re at.” He says that young people are in a transitional period in their lives and don’t know where politics will fit into their lives and schedules. Additionally, Espino adds that the “American dream” is almost impossible right now and that the youth feel betrayed by the system. Espino says that “Young people are not apathetic towards voting, they are apathetic towards the system” because the system doesn’t work for them, though he notes that “doing nothing about it doesn’t help,” and that is why Espino emphasizes that “young people need to vote!”