In praise of changes to absentee voting

As a 17-year-old high school student, I often wonder: Why aren't more young people voting? It isn't difficult to find an online video of some teen performing idiotic stunts - some of those are even considered trends - but meanwhile voting hasn't caught on at all.

What happened to all of those under-30 voters who swarmed the booths in 2008? The new voters, the ones who fought tooth and nail in 2008, are still out there and they're starving to be part of politics, but despite all efforts voting has become passé yet again.

It's no coincidence that Illinois politics, with its miserable voting turnout, has become synonymous with underhanded politicians. The government needs to hear the voices of its people in order to work effectively. So in an attempt to get more people to realize that and vote, the Illinois government has passed a new piece of legislation granting voters the convenience of an absentee ballot without having to provide an explanation.

An active voting community requires acknowledgment of the differences in this day and age by politicians and candidates. One-sided advertisements that twist truths come across as ingenuine in a time when both sides of the story can be looked up and spread around more quickly than any commercial, and with more impact than any complimentary pamphlet. The sick political system the people of Illinois live with exemplifies a lack of cooperation in the cooperative world of politics.

I am hopeful for this new improvement to the absentee ballot system, and I could really see my peers filling out these more convenient ballots. This new law could be the first step toward seeing more honest and direct politicians and inspire the return of the 2008 voters.

Kenneth Broady

Mount Prospect