On June 23 the UK voted for what they and the rest of the world call "Brexit". Brexit, was the referendum held to democratically decide whether the UK would remain in the European Union or leave it.
The final result was 48.1% remain, and 51.9% leave. This monumental decision was followed quickly by the largest drop in the pound since 1985, the global stock market taking a nose dive, and frantic British people looking up questions such as "What is the EU?" and "What happens if we leave the EU?"
Those are important questions, but probably asked not at the right time. When looking at the break up of who voted in Brexit, it becomes clear that the majority of those who voted leave, were over the age of 45. 56% of people aged 45-54 voted leave, 57% of voters aged 55-64, and 60% people over the age of 65 also voted to leave the EU.
However, the vast majority of young people, voted to remain in the EU. The voters aged 35-44 voted 52% remain, 62% of voters aged 25-34, and 73% of the voters aged 18-24 voted to remain in the EU.
There are a lot of things that happened in the referendum that we as voters can take note of, especially as we prepare for an election this November.
The first, is turning out to vote. If you look at those numbers, you would think that the young people's vote to remain would have kept it in the lead. The margins between remain and leave were much larger in the young people's votes, but there was one thing that caused the people 45+ to win with their vote to leave.
Out of the more than 30 million voters, a larger number of them were 45+, causing the vote to tip in their favor. The numbers show that this was a close vote, and even just a little more from either side could have tipped the balance.
The overwhelming majority of young people in the UK wanted to remain in the EU, but because not enough of them got to the polls, they ended up losing that battle. This is an important lesson for the US going into the election. Young voters have to remember that their vote counts, and it counts a lot this year.
The second point, for voters to take from the EU referendum is the importance of making a well informed decision. You can't just vote without an idea of what you're voting for. When the results showed leave as the winner and the economic problems started, Google searches in the UK sky-rocketed into panicked Brits looking for an understanding on what they had just voted for. "What is the EU?" became the second highest googled question in the UK the day after the referendum.
Although the US vote for President will not cause the DOW (Dow Jones Industrial Average) to drop 900 points in two days, it will effect how the world sees us, and possibly shift our influence on the world. Which is why, the voters can't just guess at who should be our next President. Voters should research the stances of their candidates. They also shouldn't just google the Democratic and Republican nominees. Both the Green and Independent parties have nominees that may appease some voters wary of their current party's nominee.
Making informed decisions, and voting on that decision is the only sure-fire way to get what you want in way of politicians and policy, so as US citizens it is our duty to do our research, and go out to vote in November.
