Dote and Vote

Last primary day, I let my eldest grandson, Ethan, 7, cast my vote. We stood in line at my polling place and entered the voting booth together. He pulled the metal bar to close the curtain. In the hush of that small enclosure, I told him, “Today, you’re helping me vote for the candidates I’ve chosen. But when you grow up, you’ll be able to decide for yourself.” His blue eyes widened with the wonder of that power.

Earlier, I’d explained that Americans spend months evaluating those running for office. Now, having witnessed dozens of adults waiting their turn and a police officer on guard, he understood that we were in a special place to perform a special duty.

Ethan scanned the ballot. He was a first-grader and a brand-new reader, so he took his time finding the names as I called them out and even longer to locate the right levers. After flipping each one, he double-checked that an X had popped up in the corresponding box on the voting machine. In this slow and deliberate way, we proceeded down the ballot.

Watching his rapt concentration, I experienced a fresh appreciation for the democratic process and a frisson of delight unlike anything I’d felt in the ballot booth since the first time I was old enough to vote -- for John F. Kennedy in 1960.

By the time we left, the line had lengthened considerably. I expected to be greeted by scowls, but not one of those supposedly impatient New Yorkers seemed upset at the delay. Instead, Ethan was greeted by high-fives and smiles, as if he had just been initiated into an honor society. Which, in a sense, he had.

We grandparents certainly have earned the right to initiate the young: There are 70 million of us in the U.S. According to the Center for American Women and Politics, 78% of Americans 55 or older were registered to vote in 2000, and 70% voted.

More to the point, last week, an Ipsos-Public Affairs poll of more than 1,000 adults found that, contrary to the image of the greedy geezer, we older voters make up our minds on key national issues based on the interests of our grandchildren. Even when seniors think about Medicare, drug benefits or Social Security, only 26% are worrying solely about themselves. The rest are worried that these benefits won’t be available to their children and grandchildren. Since we’re already taking the interests of our grandchildren into the voting booth, why not take the kids themselves? (It’s legal in most states, including California.)

Besides being a bonding experience, pairing up with a child in the voting booth is a great teaching opportunity. With the youngest, you can root together for particular candidates, then check to see who wins. With older kids, you can discuss the electoral process, the issues and what your chosen candidates said or did to win your vote.

In contrast to older voters, young people have much lower participation rates. Just more than half of Americans 18 to 24 years old voted in 1972, according to the Center for Information and Research on Civil Learning and Engagement at the University of Maryland. Since then, no more than 46% in this age group voted in a presidential election; in 2000, the percentage dropped to 42.

Right now, the greatest aspiration of American youth is to be old enough to legally drive or drink. Take your grandkids into the voting booth Tuesday and maybe they will grow up yearning to be old enough to vote.