Trends in Young Voter Participation
Young Blacks
voting, ages 18–29
(from 1988 to 2004)
Blacks, Latinos and
whites voting, ages
18–29
(from 1988 to 2004)
Young DNC
participants increase
(from 2000 to 2004)
Americans using
Internet, e-mail or
text messages for
information about
a presidential
campaign (2008)
Americans who
have watched online
political videos
(from 2001 to 2008)
and “fans” will translate to actual
votes, they are sure it has altered
behavior in some way.
“The question is impact,”
says Peter Levine, director of
the Center for Information
& Research on Civil Learning
& Engagement (CIRCLE), a
nonpartisan research center that
studies youth civic engagement
and civic education. “I don’t
think anybody knows the answer
to that. I would think that the
impact per hundred people is low,
because they wouldn’t behave
the same way without social-networking sites like Facebook
and MySpace. But the scale is so
enormous, there has to be some
impact. However, the question
remains: Is this a symptom or is
this a cause?”
Why are young
voters so important?
It’s a numbers game.
Young voters have always been
good at picking the winning
candidate—until recently. In 1984,
young voters overwhelmingly sided
with Ronald Reagan over Walter
Mondale, 59 percent to 40 percent,
respectively. And presidents
George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton
both claimed the youth vote. In
2000, however, young voters
supported former Vice President
Al Gore, who lost the election to
President George W. Bush.
For the past two election cycles,
young voters were more likely to
vote Democrat. Combine that with
the fact that the last two elections
were won by slim margins and
it’s no wonder both sides of the
aisle are trying to either increase
the electorate or to continuously
mobilize young voters. Technology
has made that easier.
When George H. W. Bush
was elected president in 1988,
39. 5 percent of Blacks, Latinos
and whites between the ages of
18 and 29 voted, according to
CIRCLE. Fast-forward to 2000,
when George W. Bush was elected
president—the first presidential
campaign year in which the Internet was highly used—and that
number jumped to 48. 3 percent.
The nation also has witnessed
a large increase of young Black
voters, whose voter turnout has
jumped 26 percent in 16 years.
In 2004, 49. 5 percent of Blacks
ages 18 to 29 voted, up from 39. 4
percent in 1988.
