Posted on 12/17/2006 6:12:40 PM PST by neverdem
Participation climbs for second straight major election; 18-29s vote for Democrats by 22-point margin
Washington DC - Nov. 08, 2006 Young voters turned out to vote in higher numbers and favored Democrats by a wide margin, according to exit polls, providing a major boost to Democratic candidates in yesterday’s House and Senate elections. The 2006 turnout increase follows on the unprecedented 2004 youth turnout and provides further evidence that the new generation coming of age today is more engaged than young voters in recent decades.
Exit polls on CNN’s website confirm that young voters increased their share of the electorate substantially from 2002. In 2002, 18-29s comprised 11% of all votes cast; in yesterday’s 2006 election, 18-29s cast 13% of the votes. This is a significant result, considering that young people are actually a smaller share of the electorate in 2006 than they were in 2002, and also that turnout overall in the 2006 election appears to be up from 2002. The data shows that the increase in voter turnout for 18-29 year olds in 2006 significantly outpaced the overall population turnout increase.
The 2006 results continue the positive trend from 2004, when young voters also outpaced the turnout increase in the presidential election. Turnout for 18-29s climbed more than 9 percentage points in 2004, with 4.6 million more young voters showing up than in 2000, according to the University of Maryland’s youth voter research institute, CIRCLE.
With a confirmed Democratic take-over of the House and the Senate hanging in the balance, young people also have demonstrated their political clout. CNN’s national exit polls show young voters favored Democrats by a 22-point margin, nearly three times the margin that Democrats earned among other age groups.
"Young voters increased their turnout and favored Democrats by large margins," said Hans Riemer, Rock the Vote’s political director. "They played a major role in the Democratic victory."
A sample of exit polling from close Senate races around the country shows that the youth vote was key to the Democratic victory.
US Senate 18-29 yrs
Democrat Republican
Virginia 52% 48%
Rhode Island 65% 35%
Pennsylvania 68% 32%
Ohio 57% 43%
Missouri 49% 48%
Montana 56% 44%
Results from House races also show a strong impact for Democrats from the youth vote increase.
With Democrats depending on young voters for their election showing, Republicans will have a strong incentive to win the margin back for 2008. Historical data shows that when a person votes with one party for three consecutive elections, that person stays with the party for life. If Democrats should win the youth vote again in 2008 there could be serious long-term political consequences—as the generation increases its voting turnout over time and becomes a larger share of the electorate.
ABOUT ROCK THE VOTE:
Rock the Vote is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to building political power for young people (www.rockthevote.com). Founded in 1990, Rock the Vote helped spark a major increase in young voter turnout in 2004, registering 1.4 million young voters.
Additional data about young voter turnout in 2006 is available at Young Voter Strategies (www.youngvoterstrategies.com).
Time to raise the voting age back up to 21.
How do you think pols get the pulse of the electorate or craft a message?
Rock the vote are the communists who preach to the MTV burnouts. I won't allow MTV to be watched in my house and I'm 23, lol.
Like I tell all the "young'uns"......Yep....YOU just vote DEM and PAY for OUR Retirement!!!!!!!!!!! And for our Trailer/Motorhome!!!!!!!! And for our Social Security!!!!!!!! And for our Medicare!!!!!!
Not blaming them at all. I am blaming the media and the Republican Congress. One of them tells the youngsters that Republicans are responsbile for all the evil in the world. The other doesn't give them a chance to believe anything else.
Young=stupid.
my first election was Bush vs Gore& i've voted in
EVERY ELECTION SINCE.
but i remember having a "Mock election" in middle school,
it was Bush I vs Clinton &i voted for clinton(dont know how
THAT happened)but i remember going home & telling my
parents to vote for clinton,i really tried to sell it to
them(they just rolled their eyes at me-to this day they still tease me about it)
but i got better
Considering the results from the young voter turn out, it it obvious that the voting age should be raised to forty.
The vast improvement in the economy started when the Republicans gained control in 1994. The youngest voters were just 6 years old. The oldest (29) weren't yet able to vote.
Don’t know who said it, or the exact phrase, but this is the way I remember it:
If you are not liberal when you are young, you have no compassion.
If you are not conservative when you are old, you have no brains.
"Young=Stupid" , not so. Young=Ignorant or naive, both of which are curable.
Rock The Vote is just a bunch of Hollywood celebrities and singers who influence kids with propaganda as far as I'm concerned. Of course 18 to 29 year olds are going to vote for Democrats. Of course that will change when Democrats reinstate the draft and kids will be forced to fight in a war they don't agree with.
Note: There could be MAJOR MATH ERRORS in this "study."
If older people didn't vote this last time around, then the percentage of younger people could easily go up by this "2 percent". This poster, or author, needs to provide how many IN TOTAL voted by age, and address the issue of older conservatives staying home.
Also, along the ad hominem dimension, I find it self-serving that the "objective" author of this report is someone charged with increasing what is being reported.
>>>Rock the Vote is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to building political power for young people (www.rockthevote.com). Founded in 1990, Rock the Vote helped spark a major increase in young voter turnout in 2004, registering 1.4 million young voters.
The percentages on conservative/liberal in the younger group was interesting.
I feel for your CMS (and honor your service BTW!! :)), I too am obviouls in that group (26) and you make good points..
Good point. Hadn't thought of it. Yet another reason not to nominate McCain.
I definitely think McCain can be denied the nomination.
You have the wrong idea. They are just comparing results in the 18 - 29 years old age cohort every two years.
I am in that age group and I first voted in '04 and never voted for a dem. The only vote I regret was for McCain in '04. I didn't know what a P0S he was.
I hope you're right!!
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