Students wishing to participate must attend a school that is registered for the Forum.

If you would like your school to participate, encourage your teacher or faculty advisor to register your campus by giving them this PDF and telling them to visit www.RockTheWeb.org for more details.

Number of Potential Young Voters ¹

• 42,834,082 US citizens are between the ages 18-30
• 27,413,813 or 64% of 18-30 year old citizens are registered to vote
• 18-30 year olds make up 24% of total eligible voters
• 26,917,473 US citizens are between the ages 18-25
• 16,123,566 or 59.9% of 18-25 year olds are registered to vote
• 18-25 year olds make up 14.4% of the total eligible voters
• 42% of 18-24 year olds cast a ballot in 2000
• When all 73.3 million of the 0-18 year old come of voting age, they will be larger than the Baby Boomers (71.8 million).²

Quick facts ³

• 30.2% of 18-19 year olds voted. 43.4% registered to vote.
• 32.4% of 18-24 year olds voted. 48.75% registered to vote. 41.3% of those enrolled in school (42% of the total 18-24 year old group) voted.
• 36.24% of 18-30 year olds voted. 51.6% registered to vote.

Young People On Voting In 2004 ⁵

• 3 out of 5 (59%) report that they will "definitely be voting" in the 2004 general election for president.

What Issues Concern Young People? ⁶

• Creation of well-paying jobs
• The war in Iraq and safety from terrorism
• Affordable college and higher education
• The candidates' motivation and vision

Other Statistics About Potential Young Voters ⁷

• 45% say that the economy will be the most important factor they consider when deciding which candidate to support for President.
• 54% support affirmative action programs for minorities and women for admissions to colleges and universities.
• 61% of college students oppose legalizing marijuana.
• 26% believe that abortion should be legal under any circumstances, 53% in some circumstances and 20% believe abortion should be illegal in all circumstances.
• 81% agree that the government should take steps to prevent additional acts of terrorism but not if those steps would affect some of your basic civil liberties such a personal privacy or free speech.

  YVC Nationwide Survey of 18-24 year olds⁸

  • Four out of every five students report following current events - with 26% indicating that they follow current events "very closely." 45% of young people say that other young people are most likely to convince them to vote.
  • In focus groups, young adults express that the best way to increase voter participation is to have candidates speak about the issues that concern young adults.

26th Amendment

In 1971, the 26th amendment experienced the fastest ratification in history and granted the right to vote in all elections to 11 and a half million 18-20 year olds.

1972 Election & Young Voters⁹

The 1972 Election was the first Presidential election in which 18 year olds could vote and 55% of 18-24 year old eligible voters cast ballots.

Statistics From CIRCLE

• Voter Turnout Among Young Women and Men: Changes in civic participation among women and men aged 18 to 24 between 1972 and 2000. Includes comparisons across race and level of education.
• Civic Engagement Among Minority Youth: Measures of voter turnout, voter registration, and volunteering between 1972 and 2000 among 18-24 year olds of varying race.
• Quick Summary of Voting Statistics from the 2000 Election: Statistics on voter eligibilty, registration, and activity.
• Youth Voter Turnout in the States during the 1998 Midterm and 2000 Presidential Elections: Statistics on youth voter turnout by state.
• Youth Attitudes Towards Civic Education and Community Service Requirements: Results of a 2002 survey on attitudes towards civic education and community service of youth aged 15 to 25. Includes comparisions across race, gender, and age ranges.
• Youth Voter Turnout has Declined, by Any Measure: Traces youth share of the electorate and voter turnout between 1972 and 2000. Includes comparisons across race, gender, marital status, and level of education.
• Youth Civic Engagement: Snapshot of Attitudes, Influences and Opportunities: Overview of a 2002 survey of youth aged 15 to 25.
• Graphs of Trends in Youth Civic Engagement, 1966-2000

For More Information Contact:

Mark Lopez
Research Director, CIRCLE
Research Assistant Professor,
School of Public Affairs, University of Maryland
301-405-0183
301-314-1900
mhlopez@umd.edu

Footnotes

1 Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning, CIRCLE, Mark Lopez at Mhlopez@umd.edu
2 Baby Boomers are the generation born between 1946-1964.
3 Source: U.S. Census
4 Source: Third Millennium's "Don't Ask, Don't Vote: Young Adults in the Presidential Primary Season" (pgs 75-85)]
5 Campus Kids: The New Swing Voter, Institute of Politics at Harvard University
6 According to the 18-30 Voting Issues Paper
7 Campus Kids: The New Swing Voter, Institute of Politics at Harvard University
8 www.youthvote.org
9 Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning, CIRCLE,Emily Kirby at Ekirby@umd.edu
10 Getting Out the Youth Vote: Results from Randomized Field Experiments, Donald P. Green & Alan S. Gerber - Yale University, August 6, 2001
11 Getting Out the Youth Vote in Local Elections: Results From Six Door-to-Door Canvassing Experiments, Donald P. Green, Alan S. Gerber and David W. Nickerson - Yale University, May 18, 2002
12 The Challenge of Bringing Voter Mobilization Efforts "To Scale": An Evaluation of Youth Vote's 2002 Phone Banking Campaign, Donald P. Green, Alan S. Gerber and David W. Nickerson - Yale University, July 23, 2003