The Boston Globe: Youth voters a force in '08 race

[Odin2005]

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/05/13/youth_voters_a_force_in_08_race/?page=1

NEW YORK -- Young voters, who for decades played a marginal role in electoral politics, have emerged as a powerful new force in the 2008 elections and are poised to determine the next president as a result of an explosion in political activity among youth, according to pollsters, political organizers, and young voters themselves.

Spurred into action by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the war in Iraq, youths 18 to 24 years of age have dramatically accelerated their participation in politics, both at the ballot box and on college campuses. After a steady decline in youth voting since the close of the Vietnam War, young voter participation increased from 36 percent in 2000 to 47 percent in 2004, representing a huge jump. Analysts also project that the final statistics from 2006 will show it to be a record year for youth voting in a midterm congressional election.

-snip-

Further, the current crop of young voters is trending more Democratic -- unlike the previous generation of youth -- giving the eventual Democratic nominee a key advantage in the general election, according to two independent surveys of young voters.

"We've got the potential for this to be like SDS on steroids," said John Della Volpe , director of polling at Harvard University's Institute of Politics, referring to the Vietnam-era Students for a Democratic Society.

-snip-

:woohoo:

[Joanne98]

1. Yeah, and the youth are mad about getting treated like criminals!

Look forward to the anti-police-state vote!

[Grandrose]

2. Bring. It. ON.

I like the sound of this article!:woohoo: :kick:

[AtomicKitten]

15. I'm itching for a GOP butt-kicking.

They so have it coming.

[ooga booga]

3. It's not a given that the youth vote will go our way.

I think that the youth vote is not as predictable as we might imagine. A lot of them voted for Bush in '00 and '04. Perhaps, like some other demographic groups, they're getting a hangover from all these years of Bush & Co.

I happened to stumble onto a C-Span segment televising a conference of conservatives that was focused on the future of the youth vote. Happily, those fine, young conservatives were very, very worried about their prospects of mobilizing the youth vote in their favor in 2008. Republicans know that they're heading into a possible "perfect storm" in 2008. I hope that the youth vote is part of it. We'll see.

[karynnj]

4. Kerry did far better with that age group than any other

In 2008, there will be 4 more "birth years' people" who can vote.

It will matter who the two candidates are - as it should. It is interesting to think of what the affect on the primaries will be.

[calimary]

5. Welcome to DU!

Glad you're here - and I hope this is correct. We WANT them shaking in their boots, nervous, very worried, and on the defensive. And we CERTAINLY want that "perfect storm" in '08!

So roll up your sleeves...

[ooga booga]

6. Addendum

That conservative conference did note the importance of face-to-face contact with young voters. There is a definite payoff with face-to-face contact. Very influential. So expect the Republicans to do their best to contact as many of those young voters as they can -- trying to persuade them that they are the good guys not us.

Democrats will need to get out there and do likewise. Personally, I think one leading issue should naturally be the war -- this one and future ones -- since young people will be the ones on the front lines.

"Vote Republican and fight in the next war. Vote Democratic and fight for peace and justice."

[Alexander]

7. This is why I don't think Hillary Clinton will win...

Her video game crusade and comments that young people "think work is a four-letter word" gives people my age no reasons to vote for her and many reasons to vote against her.

Underestimate us at your own peril.

[rinsd]

8. Oh my god a ratings system for video games! The horror!

The only way her video game "crusade" affects you is if you're 16 or younger.

In which case your threats to not vote for her seem to be much assured.

[Odin2005]

10. It was based on BS about games like Doom "supposedly" making kids shoot people

[rinsd]

18. What does that have to do with the youth vote?

The other poster claimed her stance on video games (which is a ratings system with penaltiers for retailers who ignore said ratings) would hurt her with young people.

"
games like Doom "supposedly" making kids shoot people"

This is a strawman. That is not the claim. The claim has to do with negative impacts via violnet media. Not someone playing doom then going on a killing spree.

Are you denying that violent media has a negative impact on children?

[Odin2005]

9. Yep, I'm sich of her anti-video game BS.

[ElizabethDC]

11. She actually has pretty strong youth support

Obama undoubtledly has stronger support among young people. However, I'm a college student and a Hillary supporter and I know a lot of people who are supporting Hillary. I really don't think that many people know and/or care about her stance on video games (but, then again, I don't know that many people who play video games).

At the end of the day, the question is, will young people vote in the primaries? People like me who go to school far away from home have to register for absentee ballots, and college students aren't very good at planning in advance for these sorts of things (trust me, I know this from trying to mobilize people on campus to vote last November).

[Colobo]

14. Hillary and Obama are doing very well among young people

[Alexander]

17. You don't have to play video games to dislike such blatant posturing.

It's the same nonsense Tipper Gore and later Joe Lieberman pulled.

[ElizabethDC]

19. Well, it doesn't bother me. Obviously it's an issue that some people care about.

Me? I don't care either way, so it has no effect on my vote.

[ooga booga]

12. in my humble opnion

having Hillary Rodham Clinton as the Democratic nominee might just be the ONLY way that the Democratic Party could lose in 2008. I don't dislike her in any way really. I just don't she can win all the marbles in November 2008.

[rufus dog]

13. youth vote

The numbers of 23 to 28 year olds registering D is huge (somewhere around 53% if I remember correctly) The only other time it was close to that high for either party was in the early 80's, about 51% registering as Rs.

[provis99]

16. don't want to rain on the parade, but 47% is pathetically low

its just less pathetic than 36%. What the article is saying between the lines is that most citizens (youth included) don't care enough to vote, even in these trying times.