Where the hell was the youth vote

I've heard it said and read it in a number of places that the youth vote was not any larger then it was in 2004, and it might actually have been slightly lower. It also appears as though African American voters did not come out in all that much great of numbers then they have in the past. I heard this on CNN and I have read it on a few sites. I'm very surprised by this, but I guess if it's true I think it actually gives Obama an even more clear victory and hopefully will help to bring us together more quickly.

 

Heard the same thing.

Seems like BO was just a reaction to eight years of Bush and the neocons.

 

I was very shocked when I heard that, especially with all the effort that went into getting them to get up and off their asses and vote. Oh well.

 

In my state, the men are 50-50 with Obama and McCain, but it is 54-46 with women.

So, go figure.

 

You've got it wrong -- the youth vote was very strong and voted Obama -- so strong that the Republicans tried to send out emails to at least one entire student body to try to trick them about the voting date.

"Early reports are indicating that the youngest members of the country's electorate voted Tuesday in higher numbers than in the last presidential election — and they voted more Democratic. Youth turnout appears to be exceeding 2004 levels, which was itself a year with a big surge in voters ages 18 to 29.

“We expected record turnout, and that is what we’re seeing right now,” says Heather Smith, a spokeswoman for Rock the Vote, an organization that works to encourage young people to register and vote in every election.

"What’s more, young voters may prove to have been the key to Barack Obama's victory. Young voters preferred Obama over John McCain by 68 percent to 30 percent — the highest share of the youth vote obtained by any candidate since exit polls began reporting results by age in 1976, according to CIRCLE, a non-partisan organization that promotes research on the political engagement of Americans between ages 15 and 25."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27525497/

 

The percent of people who registered for the first time was 11 percent which was the same in 2004. Obama did have a slightly higher majority of young voters than Kerry did.

 

"In youth-dense precincts around universities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Florida and Nevada — where at least 75 percent of voters are under age 30 — more votes had already been cast at 5 p.m. EST than in the 2004 election, reports Rock the Vote."