Why Vote? Questions on Democratic Participation and Political Reform - October 19, 1995

Surveys reveal some startling facts about voting patterns in our country. Fewer and fewer citizens, particularly young adults, are going to the polls. This trend appears to correlate with the eroding faith citizens have in our government and our leaders.

Because one of the central purposes of the LegiSchool Project is to promote participation in government, we decided to deal with this problem head-on in this Town Hall Meeting. The topic we have chosen is, Why Vote? Questions on Democratic Participation and Political Reform. Unlike previous Town Hall Meetings that addressed a specific problem such as school violence or teen pregnancy, participants this time will discuss the political process itself and the factors that discourage people from participating in it.

How shall we shape the society in which we live and who will take part in the process? For what purposes? With what powers? That is what this Town Hall Meeting is all about.