December 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 42

SENIORS

Table 3: Percent in each Age Cohort Reporting they Voted in Congressional Elections
Presidential election years

Congressional election years

1996

2000

2004

2008

2002

2006

2010

Total

54.2

54.7

58.3

58.2

42.3

43.5

41.8

18-20

31.2

28.4

41.0

15.1

17.1

16.4

21-24

33.4

35.4

42.5

46.6

18.7

21.9

22.0

25-34

43.1

43.7

46.9

48.5

27.1

28.3

26.9

35-44

54.9

55.0

56.9

55.2

40.2

40.1

37.7

45-64

64.4

66.6

65.0

53.1

54.3

51.1

65 and over

67.0

67.6

68.9

68.1

61.0

60.5

58.9

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Table 399. Voting-Age Population - Reported Registration and Voting by
Selected Characteristics: 1996 to 2010 (www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0399.pdf ).

neighborhoods are exemplified by attractive landscaped streets, trails and
recreation opportunities.
Enhanced Leisure Literacy
A consistent finding from leisure research has been empirical verification
of the aphorism, " You are what you
were yesterday. " That is, leisure behaviors learned in our youth tend to endure
throughout the lifespan. For the most
part, people's leisure interests and skills
are established by the time they leave
high school or college. Older seniors
who reached these milestones before
the 1960s generally have limited leisure
skills and interests, because there were
relatively few opportunities for them to
be acquired in their youth.
The level of leisure literacy among
baby boomers is much higher, since
they were exposed to many more leisure
opportunities in their youth. This means
that the desire among new seniors for
recreation opportunities is much greater
than that expected by seniors a decade
ago. Communities that fail to recognize
this much higher level of leisure literacy
or accommodate this greater demand
are likely to both lose existing GRAMPIES and fail to attract any newcomer
seniors in the community.
Disproportionate Political Influence
" Gray power " is a political reality,

Parks & Recreation

and the prognosis is that it will continue to gain in strength. It is a function of the substantial increase in
seniors' numbers, their growing proportion of the total population and
their high level of political participation. They have the time to invest in
personally lobbying elected officials,
and in many government bodies, a
preponderance of elected officials are
in the same age cohort. This makes
it likely that seniors have relatively
strong personal networks with these
people, and that the officials can fully
empathize with their concerns.
Table 3 shows that the percentage of seniors who report voting in
congressional elections is greater
than that of any other age group. In
the high-profile presidential election
years, those under 35 typically voted
at approximately two-thirds the level
of those over 45. In nonpresidential
election years, the difference is especially prominent. In the 2010 congressional election, the percentage of
eligible voters aged 45 and older who
voted was nearly double that of those
aged 18 to 34.
This latter scenario is reflective of
the situation in local elections, where
the lack of high-profile campaigns
results in disinterest among many
younger voters while seniors vote in
disproportionately high numbers.

| D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 3 | W W W. N R PA . O R G

Thus, a monitoring organization reported, " In many cities, mayors for
example are elected with a single-digit
turnout. In recent elections in Dallas,
Charlotte and Austin, they were elected by a turnout of five percent, six percent and seven percent, respectively. "
The Senior Discount Issue
The dramatic shift in seniors' status described here indicates they are
likely to be the fastest-growing target
market for recreation and park agencies, and central to their future viability. This suggests the tradition of
giving price discounts to this group
should be reviewed.
Senior discounts became part of
the marketing lexicon in the 1950s.
They made both commercial sense in
the private sector and equity sense in
the public sector, because at that time,
one-third of all seniors were below the
federal poverty level. Today, however,
seniors' standard of living and their
economic well-being is better than that
of their younger counterparts. The
great majority of elderly persons are
not poor. The U.S. still has a poverty
problem, but it is pervasive across all
age groups and is not selectively concentrated among seniors. Hence, the
ultimate goal of park and recreation
agencies should be to end discounts
for adults that are defined by age, and

December 2013 - Parks & Recreation

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