Ballot Box Demographics
The 2016 Presidential Election campaign cycle started early this time around and perhaps those of us most interested keeping tabs on candidates are the nation’s older folk, reports the Association of Mature American Citizens.
Seniors have always been keen on their voting rights, accounting for the lion’s share of voter participation, particularly in recent federal elections. Individuals in their fifties and sixties have consistently turned out in blocs that make up more than 50% of the ballots cast in key elections. Those over 65 years of age have accounted for nearly two thirds of the vote in some elections over recent years.
There are a number of reasons that as people grow older the more focused they are on their political leadership, not the least of which is the desire to protect the government programs they paid for in their younger days. Issues dealing with things like Social Security and Medicare are critical to them.
……And yet most of the candidates direct their attention to ‘winning the younger voter….Hmmm perhaps they aren’t in such a hurry as to give away the farm and were taught as children that instant gratification is a short lived euphoria that produces less when harvested.