Older Voters Must Build on Twin Goals of Participation and Demands for Clarity

By Kevin J. Donnellan, U.S. Elections Send Mixed Signals

Director, Grassroots and Elections
AARP

On its surface, the US elections suggest a strong move to the right among the U.S. electorate. And since, as in years past, older voters age 50 and above turned out to vote in higher numbers than any other age cohort, many analysts have argued that this signals increasing support among older voters for fundamental changes in U.S. retirement security programs.

A significant majority of Americans age 50 and above oppose most proposals for Social Security and Medicare reform which would either partially privatize those programs or rely almost solely on market forces for the delivery of services and the restraint of costs (those policies advocated by the right). Yet politicians supporting those positions carried the day in November. Can we conclude that there was a fundamental shift in the sentiment of older voters?

No, this should not be interpreted as a mandate.

Research among older Americans suggests little has changed with most older voters’ strong support for the twin programs of Social Security and Medicare. What these elections do suggest are two lessons older citizens in both the U.S. and within most major industrialized countries would be well advised to heed. As the needs of aging populations place increasing pressures on government decision-makers, older citizens must focus their electoral energies on two key pillars – participation and the demand for clarity in candidate positions.

Lacking clarity or any perceivable differences in candidates’ positions on basic retirement issues, older voters in the US cast their votes based on their support for the President, concerns about Iraq, homeland security and the war on terrorism. And that largely explains what happened on Election Day.

It is axiomatic that those who show up decide elections. While older voters in the US remain a central focus of any successful candidate, lower participation rates in Europe and other western nations yield an oftentimes-different focus among candidates. Our colleagues abroad would be well served to note the power of older voters in the US. If you want your issues addressed, you’d best first make sure those standing for election believe you will show up and vote. But participation is not itself enough – as evidenced this past November.

Virtually all candidates said they were committed to addressing the need for prescription drug assistance for older Americans. And those supporting a transfer of a portion of Social Security into privately held accounts went to great lengths to characterize their position as opposition to any sort of privatization. That was the extent of the political discourse on these two critical issues, where the devil really is ultimately in the detail. Lacking an informed and coherent debate on those issues, where voters really could make a distinction between candidate positions, older voters simply concluded both candidates supported their concerns over retirement security and turned to other issues.

What then can we conclude about the US elections and what it holds for the future both here and abroad? First, little has changed in the debate over the future of retirement. Second, much must change if we are to address the pressures of any aging society in a timely and coherent fashion. Participation in the electoral process and a demand for clear and coherent positions will be essential in forcing that change.

Kevin Donnellan is AARP’s Director of the Office of Grassroots and Elections. In this capacity, he leads the 35-million member Association’s extensive state and national grassroots advocacy operations, e-advocacy efforts, and renowned voter education initiative. He also represents AARP on the Leadership Council of Aging Organizations and is a liaison to other aging organizations and coalitions.

Mr. Donnellan is a member of the Board of Directors of the Long Term Care Campaign, and currently serves as its chairman. From 1994 through 2000, he was a member of the ABA Commission on Legal Problems for the Elderly.

Before coming to AARP, Mr. Donnellan worked on Capitol Hill where he was Executive Assistant to U.S. Representative, Geraldine Ferraro. Additionally, Mr. Donnellan has extensive campaign experience. He holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in Government and Politics from St. John’s University.