Is voting for young people?: with a new elections chapter for 2016

Explores the reasons why young people are less likely to follow politics and vote in the United States and other established democracies, no matter who the candidates are, or what the issues may be. An important read for students of democracy, political participation, elections, and voter behaviour.

Cover -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Table of Contents -- Preface to the Third Edition -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- An Overview -- Chapter 1 The Aging of Regular Newspaper Readers -- Who Reads a Newspaper Every Day Anymore? -- Has Reading a Newspaper for Political Content Changed? -- Can Similar Patterns Be Found in Other Established Democracies? -- Do Young Adults Just Not Like to Read? -- Conclusion: A Future for Newspapers? -- Chapter 2 The Aging Audience for Politics on TV -- Is Network TV News a Dying Dinosaur? -- Is Cable News Picking up the Slack? -- Where Have All the Water-Cooler Shows Gone? -- Can Similar Patterns Be Found in Other Established Democracies? -- Conclusion: Can Soft News Save the Day? -- Chapter 3 Don't Ask Anyone Under 30 -- Have Young People Become Less Likely to Follow Political Events? -- What News Stories Did Young People Follow in 2004? -- Is This the Least Politically Knowledgeable Generation of American Youth Ever? -- Are Young People in Other Democracies Similarly Clueless About Politics? -- Conclusion: The Impact of Political Knowledge -- Appendix to Chapter 3 -- Chapter 4 Where Have All the Young Voters Gone? -- Turnout by Age in American Presidential Elections Since 1964 -- Turnout by Age in Parliamentary Elections: Change over Three Decades -- The Turnout Gap in American Second-Order Elections -- The Turnout Gap in Second-Order Elections in Other Established Democracies -- Conclusion: Was Lowering the Voting Age a Mistake? -- Chapter 5 Do Young Adults See Voting as a Civic Duty? -- Have Young Americans Become Less Likely to View Voting as a Duty? -- Can Similar Trends Be Found in Other Democracies? -- Conclusion: A Window Into the Future? -- Chapter 6 Does Low Youth Turnout Really Matter? -- Does Position in the Life Cycle Affect Policy Positions?.

The aging of regular newspaper readers -- The aging audience for politics on TV -- Don't ask anyone under 30 -- Where have all the young voters gone? -- Do young adults see voting as a civic duty? -- Does low youth turnout really matter? -- What can be done?