Whenever I watch any news report relating to the upcoming Presidential elections, one of the most common topics discussed is the increase in the young voter demographic. Most news sources seem to emphasize that young voters will have a very large impact upon the 2008 Presidential elections. In February 2008, the organizations, Rock The Vote and CIRCLE (The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement), released a report detailing young voter registration and turnout trends. In reference to the 2004 Presidential elections, the report stated,In 2004 an estimated 20.1 million young people voted, and the younger voter turnout rate was up 9 percentage points from 2000 to 49 percent...The number of people ages 18-29 that cast their vote during the 2004 Presidential elections, increased by 9% from 2000. The Presidential debates are beginning to draw the interests of younger Americans, contributing to the size of the overall voting populous. This increase may prove to be the winning edge for a Presidential candidate.
USA Today/MTV/Gallup, recently conducted a poll directed toward the young voter demographic. The poll asked participants which Presidential candidate they favored; the ages of participants ranged from 18-29 years old. The poll found that 61% of the participants favored Barack Obama, while only 32% favored John McCain. Barack Obama appeals to younger voters almost twice as much as John McCain does. This greater appeal to young voters may give Barack Obama a slight advantage over John McCain.
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