One of the most important parts of being an American is exercising our right to vote. The presidential debates are supposed to aid in informing voters on crucial issues. Key words: supposed to.
“How helpful is this?” is a question I found myself wondering all throughout last Wednesday’s debate. As a first time voter I’m very interested and invested in everything surrounding the current election. Since this is the first presidential election for a lot of students, one would think a debate that is aimed to present facts on the issues that matter would be a really useful tool in choosing a candidate. However, I watched the debate last week with a large group of students and I saw something very different.
As I sat among my peers I observed the audience and noticed that there were students who genuinely didn’t seem to care one way or another, and then there were the students who cheered and yelled almost every time their preferred candidate spoke – no matter what he was saying – while booing the opposing candidate. This led me to the realization that a large majority of voters have already made up their mind and these debates essentially don’t “matter”.
I say the debates don’t matter because I’m not sure they offer any new information. Campaigning now is extraordinarily different than it was even four years ago. Social media such as Facebook and Twitter has come to the forefront of politics and enable users to receive information or updates multiple times a day. Many people my age get their news primarily from places like Twitter and other social news outlets, and I know that, personally, there seems to be information overload.
There is always breaking news about the candidates and then the stream of tweets that follow it. By the time that something like a debate comes around it feels almost like I’ve heard it all before, it’s old news before it’s even really talked about.
Another reason I say that these debates don’t matter is because it seems as though the campaigning has been going on for an eternity. Maybe it is because I, personally, am very interested in politics and have been keeping myself up to date, but I feel like I know so much already. I know each one’s platform and goals.
The main point being that there really is not one single statement either candidate could make to sway voters who have firmly held on to their beliefs and opinions. Each candidate has already made an impression on voters, whether it be positive or negative, because each one has been in the public eye an extraordinary amount. On the other hand, the vice presidential debate this coming Thursday could make a difference given that neither one has been publicized nearly as much as their running mates.
Based on what I observed by watching the debate on Oct. 3 with a politically diverse group of students, it did not seem to make much of an impact. In a society where young people comprise an influential pool of voters, I do not believe the debate had the intended result of swinging votes.
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