Notorious for dismal showings at the polls since the mid-1970s, the young voter demographic came out in record numbers for the 2004 presidential election, according to exit polls.
But with turnout high in other demographics as well, the young vote was not able to make a difference in the outcome, with the largest total number of voters of all ages since 1968 also flocking to the polls, said Bruce Wallin, a professor in the Political Science Department.
“My read of it is that turnout was higher than it was in 2000, but so [was that of] other population groups,” Wallin said. “So although it was an improvement, overall voter turnout was higher, so the impact was lessened.”
Fifty-one percent of registered voters ages 18 to 25 turned out to vote in this election, according to Rock the Vote. Of these voters, 55 percent voted for Sen. John F. Kerry, compared to 45 percent for President George W. Bush.
Wallin said the effort to get young voters to the polls on Election Day worked. However, the push to get other demographics out as well in a close race contributed to Bush’s victory.
“I know there were a lot of groups organized around the country to try to improve [voting] among young groups. There were other people working to get a higher turnout across the board, which worked,” Wallin said. “It diminished the impact [young voters have] that might have been stronger in a different election.”
Voters between the ages of 18 and 25 make up 14.4 percent of eligible voters, according to www.youthvote.org.
Political Science Professor William Miles said the important breakdown that needs to be studied more is the voting statistics between college and non-college students.
“I think there was a lot of mobilization on campuses across the country. Non-college youth are not in an environment where politics are in daily conversation. Classes give a context for discussing politics and I think what happened on campuses is that it became cool to vote,” Miles said.
Miles said since only about 60 percent of high school graduates attend college, statistics in the media involving young voters and their impact on the election need to be taken “with a grain of salt.”
Some students said the media overestimated the number of 18 to 25-year-olds voting for Kerry.
“I think they [young voters] affected [the election], but there were a lot of Republican voters as well as Democratic as far as youth in America,” said Sean Kinsmanm, a senior physical therapy major. “I think it raised up the numbers, but overall didn’t change the outcome.”
Wallin said young voters have an increasing potential to be mobilized in the next set of elections due to services such as the Internet.
“I think it’s going to be an important part of future campaigns. It’s something that younger voters are comfortable with — senior citizens generally don’t use the Internet, which I think is good,” Wallin said. “It will continue to encourage the younger population to vote.”
Miles said there is only so much organizations can do to get younger voters out to the polls, and then it becomes an individual responsibility.
“It’s important that youth acquire early on in this civic life the habit of voting, and as long as they are beginning to acquire it now, that’s positive for the country at large; that’s positive for democracy,” Miles said. “Dem-ocracy is too important to be left to the geezers.”
-Correspondent Amanda Carswell contributed to this report
