February 28, 2008
More Evidence Indicates Young Voters Are Actually Showing Up for Elections
There’s yet more evidence today that the often-ballyhooed power of young voters is actually materializing this year — and that it’s benefiting Democrats.
The Wall Street Journal reports that in an analysis of the 18 states that have held presidential primaries and caucuses during the past two months, voters younger than age 30 made up 13 percent of the Democratic electorate, up from 9 percent four years ago. Republicans, meanwhile, had some gains among younger voters in a few states, notably Florida, but over all saw “far fewer increases than for Democrats,” the Journal reported.
The youth vote often gains attention in presidential elections because of the visibility of younger voters at rallies, but that attention isn’t always matched by actual turnout. About 55 percent of voters ages 18 to 29 voted in 1972, following enactment of the constitutional amendment allowing 18-year-olds to vote, but that turned out to be the peak, according to the Journal. Rates among young voters have mostly fallen since then, reaching a low point of less than 40 percent in 1996, it said.
The rising participation rates already appear to be playing a role in the Democratic race, helping encourage both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to promise tax credits and other means of reducing the cost of college. So far, the Journal said, the main pitch to younger voters from the likely Republican nominee, John McCain, has been his plan to curb global warming, which puts him in opposition to many in his own party.
Still, young Americans have a ways to go to show they deserve the attention, by voting in numbers at least proportional to their representation in the nation’s total population. Those ages 18 to 29 accounted for about 21 percent of the voting-age population in 2004, but made up only 16 percent of all voters, the Journal said, citing Rock the Vote, a nonpartisan group.
Paul Basken | Posted on Thursday February 28, 2008 | PermalinkComments
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Just wait til election day. The Deanites might come out and maybe Black students but once Mccain gets through with Obama the world will know that Clinton was the best candidate. Oh well kerry, dukakis, gore, mondale, teddie, mcgovern were all exciting but unelectable…and that is America guys and gals.
— doug fredrick Feb 28, 05:32 PM #
Then why, Mr. Frederick, do the McCain people seem to think Sntr. Clinton would be easier defeated than Sntr. Obama?
— Joseph F Foster Feb 29, 09:48 AM #
“often-ballyhooed power of young voters” -What ballyhooed power? “Young voters” have always been, and always will be, a tiny part of the voting population, yet each election cycle we are again subjected to the ridiculous hype about “young voters”. Why? Aging liberals’ nostalgia for the 60’s?
— TRB Feb 29, 10:23 AM #