By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — The outcome of Tuesday’s election here will largely be decided by the region’s oldest residents.
Fewer than 3% of voters who cast ballots in Winnebago County in the June 28 primary were 18-24 years old, according to data from the Illinois State Board of Elections. Meanwhile, roughly 72% of voters in that election were 55 or older.
Furthermore, approximately 50% of people who cast ballots in the June primary were 65 and older, even though they make up just about 17% of the population, according to U.S. Census figures.
“As young people, we need to start to shine a light on the importance of our vote and encourage other young people in this community to come out and vote,” said Tamir Bell, a 19-year-old precinct committeeman who is the youngest elected representative in Rockford.
Bell, a Democrat who has been involved in political campaigns since before he was old enough to vote, is trying to get more of his peers to the polls on Tuesday.
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He hosted a young voters rally Thursday at an art gallery and studio at 317 W. Jefferson St. in downtown as part of that effort. It was billed as a bipartisan effort to try to encourage more 18-25 year olds to head to the polls — no matter who they vote for.
“I run political campaigns and I know that politicians don’t really reach out to young people. I’m going to change that,” Bell said. “We have to do more outreach as elected representatives to reach to the young people in this community to encourage them to vote.”
Older voters have always turned out in higher numbers across the country, although young voters did increase their showing in the last presidential election in 2020. In that race, voter turnout among 18-24 year olds was 48%, up from 39% in 2016, according to data from Statista. Meanwhile, turnout was nearly 72% for those 65 and older.
“Older retired people never, ever miss a time to vote,” said Bill Rose, a Democratic Rockford alderman who represents the 9th Ward. “They get as many benefits as they possibly can because they vote.”
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Rose and Bell challenged the roughly 30 people at the rally to share information on voting and encourage their peers to vote. Some of the youth there weren’t of voting age yet. They were tasked with committing to vote once they turn 18.
“There are many challenges when it comes to encouraging young people to get involved civically. You have different understanding and perspective about how politicians operate,” Bell said. “The message I want to get across to young people is your vote counts and we need you to vote.”
There were a total of 977 voters ages 18-24 who cast ballots in the June primary in Winnebago County, including the city of Rockford, which runs a separate election office. To put that into perspective consider this: About four and half times as many women living inside the city limits alone cast ballots.
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The largest number of voters were ages 65 and older, according to state data. More than 17,500 people 65 and older voted.
“We don’t care if you vote Democrat or Republican, but we need to get you out,” said state Rep. Maurice West, a Democrat. “That demographic of 18 to 25 are being discounted because candidates know — I could hype you up, but you ain’t going to vote.”
West said that when politicians go knocking on doors during campaign season, they often skip over houses of people who aren’t going to vote. Those neighborhoods that vote in droves will not only see their elected officials, but they’ll see them working to keep the neighborhood happy so they don’t get voted out.
“If you don’t vote, you’re never going to see your politician,” West told youth at the rally. “When you start voting. That’s when you are going to be taken seriously.”
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas.