I know we have been citing a lot of studies and articles lately which point to the power of the youth vote in the 2008 elections, but hold the phones, because last week CNN's "Situation Room" ran a segment on the youth vote which concluded that our vote is just "not all that" because young people, for all their enthusiasm, do not make it to the polls. The report considers it inevitable that the war in Iraq, genocide in Darfur, the health care crisis and college costs just will not be enough to get us out of bed on Election Day, in spite of all that the candidates may attempt in courting the youth vote.
But wait, how about all the data that rebuts this theory of young people's irrelevance? Election returns from November 2004 show that the number of votes cast by Americans aged 18 to 29 outnumbered votes from those aged 65 and over. And historical trends bespeak the gathering strength of the youth vote: turnout for 18-24 year olds was 11% higher in 2004 than in 2000. In 2006, decisive support among youth for Democratic candidates in the closest contests brought Jim Webb of Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana to the Senate and gave Democrats a majority.
These figures are doubly impressive because young people face the stiffest barriers to voting of any age group. From a lack of polling stations on many college campuses to the numerous registration requirements for first-time and absentee voters, making our voices heard on Election Day is not nearly as simple as it could and should be. Yet in the face of all this, the youth vote is potent and growing ever stronger. Hundreds of SFBO chapters around the country know that in only a few months, reports like CNN's will truly be a thing of the past.
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