Voting is a political freedom for many law-abiding citizens of the United States of America. In terms of voter turnout and voting behavior, there are two rival schools of thought. This research will examine the factors that cause youth voting to be lower than older voters. The first school of thought, which can be described as conventional wisdom, holds that people under thirty are the least likely of all age groups to vote because they feel indifferent toward political practices. This causes them to show up in considerably lower numbers than any other group. The second school of thought suggests that young voters are not necessarily indifferent to political systems, but rather are poorly represented. I believe that American youth are slightly disconnected from the political world, but not for any reason that they are solely responsible for. Given that there were elections in which young people participated in record numbers, the idea that young people's misrepresentations in politics are to blame for their low voter turnout seems more compelling. Conventional wisdom holds that young people don't vote because they are naturally disengaged. This idea leads many to assume that political campaigns have no influence on youth voter turnout. In 2000, Robert Putnam blamed young people for the decline in voting, political interest, and electoral activity. He argued that “young people are indifferent, irresponsible and unwilling to assume their civic responsibilities (Putnam, 2000). Kevin Mattson (2003), unlike Putnam, does not place the responsibility for the decline of political practices solely on American youth. However, he criticizes the level of engagement of young people in civil activities. ...... middle of paper ......s Young voters are building the progressive majority of tomorrow. New York: LG Publishing. Flechner, Morgan E. 2008. Voting in America/How America Votes: Law, Process, and Voter Participation. Conn.: Praeger. Gans, Curtis and Mulling, Matthew. 2011. Voter turnout in the United States, 1788-2009. Washington, DC: CQ Press. Gerber, Alan S. and Green, Donald P. 2004. Get Out the Vote: How to Increase Voter Participation. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press. Green, John C. and Shea, Daniel M. 2007. Fountain of Youth strategies and tactics for mobilizing young American voters. Maryland: Rowman and LittlefieldMattson, Kevin. 2003. Engaging Young People: Combating Young Americans' Apathy About Politics. New York: Century Foundation Press. Putnam, Robert D. 2000. Bowling Alone: ​​The Collapse and Rebirth of American Community. New York: Simon & Schuster.