Spring Break
ISU groups hope efforts pay off Nov. 2
Kevin Borgia
Issue date: 10/19/04 Section: Campus
A number of student groups joined together this fall to register more than 2,600 new voters for the upcoming election, but how strongly those voters will impact the totals on Nov. 2 remains to be seen.
Historically, many young registered voters do not actually vote on Election Day, which may limit overall successes in Normal and across the nation. Adam Alexander, communications director for the New Voters Project, a non-partisan group working to raise youth voter awareness, said in the 2000 election 53 percent of the voters 18 to 24 were registered to vote but only 36.1 percent cast a ballot.
This means almost a third of young registered voters failed to vote, but he said this year the tide may be turning.
Associate Professor of Political Science Robert Bradley agreed, saying that youth voting numbers could see a 30 percent increase this year.
"If that happens, [young voters] could determine the election," Bradley added.
Much of these changes come from a new attitude about voting that has emerged this year. For the first time, "voting and political engagement, in terms of popular culture, have become 'cool'," Alexander remarked. In this election, "young people know that their vote matters," he said, citing the 2000 presidential election when the final result came down to only a few hundred votes.
Issues like the war in Iraq, job availability, cost of higher education and health insurance are perking the ears of many young people, Bradley said, giving them "a tremendous incentive to participate in politics." And this spike in interest is not limited to a single ideological stance, Alexander noted.
"You've got such a political environment where a lot of young people on both sides of the aisle...are taking issues seriously. The post 9-11 generation is looking at issues differently than ever before," Alexander said. This notion challenges a common belief that young people are consistently casting votes Democratic, a trend Bradley has noticed as well.
Historically, many young registered voters do not actually vote on Election Day, which may limit overall successes in Normal and across the nation. Adam Alexander, communications director for the New Voters Project, a non-partisan group working to raise youth voter awareness, said in the 2000 election 53 percent of the voters 18 to 24 were registered to vote but only 36.1 percent cast a ballot.
This means almost a third of young registered voters failed to vote, but he said this year the tide may be turning.
Associate Professor of Political Science Robert Bradley agreed, saying that youth voting numbers could see a 30 percent increase this year.
"If that happens, [young voters] could determine the election," Bradley added.
Much of these changes come from a new attitude about voting that has emerged this year. For the first time, "voting and political engagement, in terms of popular culture, have become 'cool'," Alexander remarked. In this election, "young people know that their vote matters," he said, citing the 2000 presidential election when the final result came down to only a few hundred votes.
Issues like the war in Iraq, job availability, cost of higher education and health insurance are perking the ears of many young people, Bradley said, giving them "a tremendous incentive to participate in politics." And this spike in interest is not limited to a single ideological stance, Alexander noted.
"You've got such a political environment where a lot of young people on both sides of the aisle...are taking issues seriously. The post 9-11 generation is looking at issues differently than ever before," Alexander said. This notion challenges a common belief that young people are consistently casting votes Democratic, a trend Bradley has noticed as well.