He’s just not that into it.

“Right now on the (political) spectrum, I think I’m off the spectrum,” Nicholas “Nick” Johnson, self-declared independent and senior, said. “It’s just  frustration, apathy.”

Johnson said that before last year, he was more supportive of the Democratic Party but has since fallen away from the liberal side.

“It’s been exactly what (the politicians) haven’t done. They haven’t stood very strongly for anything, some things sure, but nothing inspiring. There’s no vision behind it,” Johnson said. “The more I follow politics, the less I esteem either (presidential candidate).”

Johnson is not alone. The political extremes of both the Democratic and Republican parties have discouraged many other young potential voters, and as a result, many identify more with the Independent Party. According to a nationwide poll conducted in June by the Garfield Institute for Public Leadership at Hiram College, 70 percent or more of young voters ages 18 to 29 said the government is broken and that both political parties are out of touch with each other and the electorate in general. Also according to an article written in August of this year  in The New York Times, the Democratic and Republican platforms over the past 30 years have increasingly appealed to the extremists of their parties.

U.S. History teacher Will Ellery said because both parties are now more extreme, there’s no middle ground anymore, where a lot of potential voters usually stand.

“The parties have had, due to the (electoral) primary system, to lean more toward their extremes in order to get their party’s nomination in the primaries,” Ellery said.

He went on to say that as a result of this, youth choose not to affiliate themselves with either group but rather begin to classify themselves with independent parties.

“I would contend that if there’s a growth in (independent parties), it seems to be in the Libertarians,” Ellery said. “That’s because elements of the Libertarian Party appeal to both Republicans and Democrats, and so that’s where you have a little more tendency for youth voters to lean.”

Both President Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney are struggling to stimulate the youth in this election, according to Ellery.

“The problem for President Obama is, four years ago in 2008, he had galvanized the youth with this idea of hope and kind of the promise of significant changes. I think many of the youth would argue that their lives are not really any markedly different now than they were four years ago. We don’t see the ground swell of youth support for President Obama,” Ellery said.  “At the same time, presidential candidate Romney certainly does not seem to appeal to youth at large.”

According to Ellery, both presidential candidates in this election have solidified their parties, causing polarization in this election.

“President Obama appeals more toward the left of the Democratic Party, and certainly presidential candidate Romney appeals also to the left of his party, which is an interesting dynamic as Romney is trying very hard to get to the right, to prove that he is a conservative,” Ellery said.

Many young voters have begun to recognize this change in the parties.

“I think Obama, when he was (first) president, he originally had kind of an anti-gay marriage stance,” Madeline Tatum, self-declared independent and senior, said. “But he increasingly got more liberal, like when he repealed  ‘Don’t ask, Don’t tell’ and is now supporting gay marriage. I would say that’s an example of (how he became) more liberal.”

Johnson also said he recognized changes in this election compared to the 2008 election.

“From my memories in 2008,” Johnson said, “there was way more discussion than people talking about this election now. Even with my friends, where my conversations are primarily political, we don’t even mention it. It’s kind of embarrassing to even talk about.”

Johnson said his frustration with politics is in the rhetoric of each party. He said he finds that each party is dominated by party ideals, instead of individual interpretations, which creates smaller platforms. Johnson said these extremes cause him to feel as if he cannot associate with any party.

On the other hand, Tatum, who said she is relatively new to politics, said she finds the growing extremes of both the Democratic and Republican parties helpful.

“It just makes it so easy to decide which side you’re on because (the parties) are so different,” Tatum said. “I think that with most elections (the candidates are) so similar that it’s just hard to tell exactly what your stance is because they’re just so darn similar. But I like it that I can really differentiate where my views are and matching them with the candidates.”

However, Tatum said she does have frustrations of her own with the large distinction between parties.

“There’s not enough compromise for legislature, ” Tatum said.

Johnson and Tatum also differ on the decision whether to vote or not. Tatum said she will always vote because it’s her duty as an American. On the other hand, if both political parties become more and more extreme, Johnson said he most likely would not vote and would rather not participate.

“I feel like both the candidates and the voters are just getting tired,” he said.