About Youth Voting in Elections
One of the variables that made the 2008 presidential election interesting and unpredictable was the difficulty in predicting the youth vote. Fewer younger Americans tend to vote than their older counterparts even though there was a marked increase in the percent of youth who voted in the 2008 presidential primaries than in the 2004 primaries. The statistics on youth voting have been compiled by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning since the 1972 presidential election.
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History
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Until 1971, Americans had to be 21 years old to be eligible to vote. It took the 26th Amendment to the United States Constitution to change the age to 18. The first national election in which 18 to 20 year olds could vote was the 1972 election between the incumbent Pres. Richard Nixon and Sen. George McGovern. Pres. Nixon was re-elected.
Significance
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55% of American 18 to 29 year olds voted in the 1972 election. This was the national election in which the youth vote was the highest, with the probable exception of the 2008 election between Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama. Since 1972, the youth vote has fluctuated at around 50% for national elections. The national elections of both 1996 and 2000 showed the lowest percentage of eligible youth who actually voted at around 40%. This contrasts to the percentage of older voters which has hovered around 70% in each national election since 1972.
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Time Frame
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Youth vote at much lower rates during mid-term elections when the races are to select state and local elected officials. The 1974 youth vote was 40% compared with 69.3% of older Americans. 1982 was the only year in which the youth vote was above 40% for a mid-term election. It was 41.4% according the the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning. Youth voters are even less likely to vote for primary elections. Only 9% of registered youth voters participated in the 2004 presidential primaries. This changed in 2008, however, when 17% of the eligible youth voted.
Considerations
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There is a difference in the voting behavior and attitude towards voting among youth who attend college and youth who have never attended college. Fewer youth who do not attend college vote and 73% of these young people think that voting is important. 85% of the youth who do attend college think voting is important according to a National Youth Survey of 1000 15 to 25 year olds by the Center for Information and Research On Civic Learning and the Center for Democracy and Citizenship.
Potential
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Mobilizing the youth vote is an important political strategy. Three of the states that have consistently high youth participation in voting are Minnesota, Wisconsin and Maine. All three allow voters both to register and vote on election day. Making it convenient to vote may be the key to getting more youth to actually vote. Using social networking to inform and motivate youth to vote is another strategy. During the 2008 presidential election FaceBook contained an invitation to an event: November 4, 2008 - Election Day. Over 3 million FaceBook users registered that they would attend the event.
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