2008 Woodie Awards
Elections bring mix of apathy, interest
Jessica Reho
Issue date: 11/13/07 Section: Features
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This time next year, millions of Americans all over the country will flock to the polls to elect the nation's new commander in chief.
In light of ever-surfacing statistics that demonstrate the current president's growing unpopularity and lack of support from the public for the war on terror, some who may not have paid attention to politics before are sitting up and now taking notice.
With the upcoming Democratic and Republican presidential primaries set for March 4 in Texas, candidate hopefuls in the 2008 race, as well as political activist organizations, are making a visible push at the younger generation.
Although this targeted younger generation, those ages 18 to 24, had both the lowest voter registration rates and voter turnout rates in the past two presidential elections compared with the rest of the population, this same younger group saw the greatest overall combined rate increase from the election in 2000 to the one in 2004, according to material published by the U.S. Census Bureau in March 2006.
National Voting Numbers
According to the census report, 55 percent of eligible citizens 55 years and older voted in 2004, compared to only 47 percent of eligible voters 18 to 24 years old. The key difference, the report stated, is in the 21 percent margin of registered voters between the two groups.
One reason for this proportionate difference may be that younger adults, especially in their early 20s, tend to be the most transient - meaning they live in places outside their original voting district. Lower registration percentages could then stem from their not wanting to deal with the hassle of reregistering, according to the report.
Combined, the number of voters registered and voters at the polls grew 4 percent from the 2000 election to the 2004 election, and media conglomerates such as MTV, and political advocacy organizations, such as Rock the Vote, continue to focus on registering more young voters. The Rock the Vote Web site alone registered more than 1.2 million young people in 2004.
In light of ever-surfacing statistics that demonstrate the current president's growing unpopularity and lack of support from the public for the war on terror, some who may not have paid attention to politics before are sitting up and now taking notice.
With the upcoming Democratic and Republican presidential primaries set for March 4 in Texas, candidate hopefuls in the 2008 race, as well as political activist organizations, are making a visible push at the younger generation.
Although this targeted younger generation, those ages 18 to 24, had both the lowest voter registration rates and voter turnout rates in the past two presidential elections compared with the rest of the population, this same younger group saw the greatest overall combined rate increase from the election in 2000 to the one in 2004, according to material published by the U.S. Census Bureau in March 2006.
National Voting Numbers
According to the census report, 55 percent of eligible citizens 55 years and older voted in 2004, compared to only 47 percent of eligible voters 18 to 24 years old. The key difference, the report stated, is in the 21 percent margin of registered voters between the two groups.
One reason for this proportionate difference may be that younger adults, especially in their early 20s, tend to be the most transient - meaning they live in places outside their original voting district. Lower registration percentages could then stem from their not wanting to deal with the hassle of reregistering, according to the report.
Combined, the number of voters registered and voters at the polls grew 4 percent from the 2000 election to the 2004 election, and media conglomerates such as MTV, and political advocacy organizations, such as Rock the Vote, continue to focus on registering more young voters. The Rock the Vote Web site alone registered more than 1.2 million young people in 2004.
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