College Democrats in the nation's first two contests can tell you that the excitement was real and that voter turnout on college campuses reflected that energy. According to CIRCLE (Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement), 19% of New Hampshire voters were young people - up 42% from 2004. That's 84,000 votes - a majority of them for Democrats.
In Iowa, young voters were 22% of all caucus goers, up from 17% in 2004 and matching the number of seniors who participated. And their support for Democrats was overwhelming: of the young people who caucused in Iowa, 80% of them supported Democrats.Anyone who has been working on youth organizing knew this already. We've consistently seen youth turnout for Democrats increase in the past two elections, but the results in Iowa and New Hampshire show that we are well on our way to unprecedented numbers in 2008.
Leave a comment