Will the same young folks who are for Obama now, actually get out and vote in Nov??

[ncteechur]

I ask because that has not traditionally been the case. In the past, young voters come out in primaries but do not appear to return to the polls in November.

[SoonerPride]

1. Yes, We Can!

This time is different.

Why, you ask?

It just is. There is too much on the line. This time, the young will go to the polls and vote.

[QC]

2. The youth vote is extremely powerful!

Just ask President Eugene McCarthy, President Gary Hart, President Jerry Brown, or President Howard Dean!

[democrattotheend]

9. The difference is, the youth are actually turning out for Obama

Which is one of the reasons he has gotten this far. If he gets the nomination I think they will turn out again.

And I would like to point out, for all those who like to malign young people, that people under 30 were the only age group to vote for Kerry in 2004.

[SunsetDreams]

10. lol

Just ask President Hillary Clinton why she couldn't even win the nomination then.

[susankh4]

16. Yes. Let's do ask them!

I'd like to hear an answer....

[Starbucks Anarchist]

38. I wouldn't go around mocking the youth vote.

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/US/P/00/epolls.0.html

They're the only age group John Kerry won in 2004.

[Pirate Smile]

3. When have young voters participated in Primaries or Caucuses but then not bothered to show up for a

General Election?

[uponit7771]

4. I think I heard only 14% of voters are 30 and under in the Dem primary. That's VERY low but it's....

...almost double the past years voting.

I do think BO will bring the 30 and under crowed because we have someone we can relate to in BO.

[Condem]

5. Yup.

[JVS]

6. yes

And I'd like to see proof of your claim that young voters come out in primaries and not in Nov.

[cali]

7. where's your evidence that young people in past election years

have shown up and voted in the primaries, but not in the general? I
believe that's not accurate.

[Hawkeye-X]

8. I'm 32, and I'm for Obama.

I was 28 when I wanted Dean, and never got the chance to vote him in my primary. '00 my vote went to Gore. '96 was my first opportunity to vote, and naturally it went to Clinton.

[BlueIdaho]

11. We had all better hope they do

or its Hello President McCain...

[woolldog]

12. More will vote in the general than have voted in the primary.

Besides who goes to the trouble of voting in the primary only to skip the general election?

That's like going to a restaurant and eating the appetizer, but leaving before the main course arrives.

[MadBadger]

13. I feel like they would be even more energized for a GE than they would for a primary.

[TahitiNut]

14. Will the old people voting for Hillary now still be alive in November???

:eyes:

(sheesh)

[babylonsister]

21. LOL!

I don't know what kind of analogy that is, but it glanced my funny bone. :P

[skids]

29. So who's in charge of DUZY awards, now?

:rofl:

(EDIT: just for that I'm adding you to my tracked journals list)

[David Zephyr]

30. LOL! That's my TahitiNut!

TahitiNut, I adore you! :hi:

[GarbagemanLB]

31. LOL. We better hope they have their motorized wheelchairs charged up for voting on Tuesday.

[elocs]

15. A more salient question might be:

Will all of those young people and others who are excited and inspired now by Obama be motivated to get out and vote in November if Clinton is the nominee? Or will they be bitter and disillusioned with the system?

[anonymous171]

17. They'll come out for Obama, that's certain.

[Faygo Kid]

18. Legit question. At 57, I'll be there for him. But then, I was there for McGovern.

I hope and pray that the youth that are so rightly energized for Barack will be there. But your question is a legitimate one. The GOP will do everything they can to suppress the youth vote. Too far ahead to worry about now, but a good question.

[BalancedGoat]

19. They'll come back in Nov.

I find it highly unlikely that you will have a lower number of young voters in the GE than in the election. I really don't get why people think that they'll show up to choose the nominee and then not show up to vote for him.

Now whether or not they show up in the same percentage rate in relation to the rest of the electorate is a different question...

[susankh4]

20. I think the real questions is....

will they stick around long enough to support the downticket Dems? In Ohio... many of Obama's primary supporters seemed to leave the lower part of the ballot blank. I can think of two reasons:

1) They were clueless.

2) they were Republicans.

[zulchzulu]

22. I've worked with Obama supporters who are between 18-24 and they are very serious about voting

They've proven it. I think a lot of it has to do with Barack Obama as a candidate, but as long he's the nominee, they will be out in droves to vote in the General Election.

Besides these people, I have worked with (grassroots) Obama supporters than span the entire demographic and age rainbow. Expect a very, very large turnout in the fall.

[NJSecularist]

23. If Obama is only winning the young vote, why is he about to win the nomination?

18-29 voters are only around 10-15% of the electorate.

If that was all of his support, why is he beating Hillary?

[FrenchieCat]

24. There will be even more of them!

on January 14th,
the Democratic Primary
will begin.
and you'll see why 2008
won't be like "1984."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h3G-lMZxjo

[woolldog]

33. I love that ad. n/t

[Blondiegrrl]

25. If he gets the nomination? Absolutely.

He has the power to inspire, unify and motivate.

But if Hillary were to somehow finagle her way in? Forget it. No one will give a shit about the GE -- at least not the youth vote.

[skids]

26. Maybe because their candidates lose in the primaries?

...actually I don't think you are right, I think primary participation is pretty much a reliable indicator of general election participation. But I can't seem to find statistics on it with a quick google.



http://www.civicyouth.org/PopUps/CIRCLE_RtV_Young_Voter_Trends.pdf

At any rate the biggest danger with young voters is making sure they don't get the idea it's "in the bag" so we'll need our old timers out there telling horror stories about close elections that were lost because people tried to game on the opinion polls.

[DevonRex]

27. Of course. nt

[Cali_Democrat]

28. They will turn out in Nov. if Obama is the nominee

you bet

[JVS]

32. Why do the people who loved young voters in 1992 and 1996's"rock the vote"...

activities have so much scorn for them now?

[BalancedGoat]

34. Did "Rock the Vote" start before or after...

... we chose a nominee? The answer to that question might have something to do with it.

[JVS]

35. Why should that matter? If you're for young people participating, it applies to both primaries+GE

[BalancedGoat]

36. It shouldn't.

But if the drive started after the nominee was chosen, the seeming contradiction of views would make sense even though still not justifiable.

"We don't want you choosing the nominee, but we would love it if you would come out and support the one we choose."

You can't tell me that you don't sense that view in a least a few of the posters here. They don't trust that we are informed enough to choose their nominee, but they'll encourage us to vote in November because they know we vote mostly democrat.

[Colobo]

37. Yes. We will vote for Obama in November.

[AX10]

39. Well,

many of them left a Bill Clinton speech so they could get Dave Matthews :eyes: tickets (sponsored by the Obama campaign). If they are that easily swayed, then Obama will be in for a very uphill battle in the fall.

[polichick]

40. In the past, young people came out in primaries??

[DangerousRhythm]

41. Yes, and then some.

Don't forget the ones who haven't turned 18 yet but will by the time GE rolls around. There was a kid next to me at a rally who was shouting, "I'm not 18 yet but you have my vote!!"

Every little bit counts. :)

[scheming daemons]

42. Actually you have it backwards.... traditionally, more vote in GE than in primaries....

Young people have historically AVOIDED the primaries in droves.


This year is antithetical.


Primaries average around 20% turnout for the 18-34 age group in past years... GE's average around 40% for the same group.

[cooolandrew]

43. Obama is more than just the average candidate. Young people know it's on the line this time.

[cooolandrew]

44. Even McCain has said idealism is very American not exclusve to the young.