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Congrats to youth: 'You rocked!'
Source Michael Hoover
Date 04/11/23/19:41

Congrats to youth: 'You rocked!'
By Michael Moore
If there was one group who really came through on Tuesday, it was the young
people of America. Their turnout was historic and record setting. And few in
the media are willing to report this fact.
Kerry won the youth vote in a
landslide, getting a full ten points more than Bush (Kerry: 54 percent,
Bush: 44 percent).
Young people were the only age group that voted for Kerry. In every other
age group (30-39, 40-49, 50-59, etc.), the majority voted for Bush.
Contrary to all predictions and tradition, more young adults (18-29) voted
in last week's election than in any other since 18-year-olds were given the
right to vote in 1972.
It was the first time that a majority of all young adults came out to the
polls: 51.6%.
Young adult turnout was up more than 9 percent higher than the 2000 election
Rock the Vote and MTV's "Choose or Lose" had set the seemingly unattainable
goal of getting 20 million young people out to vote. In the end, nearly 21
million youth voters cast their ballots last Tuesday * A RECORD.
Congratulations, 18 to 29-year-olds * you rocked.
<<<<<>>>>>

turnout in absolute numbers was record, turnout of eligible voters was about 60% which was highest since 1968, does this mean everyone 'rocked vote'...wait, 40% - most of whom are working people - of those eligible did not cast ballots, says something about kerry/dems failure to address core economic issues...

turnout rose among every age group, consequently, those under 30 casting ballots comprised same 17% of all voters that they had in 2000...

so-called 18-29 age group borders on being (if not is) bogus,
'life cycle' voting theory indicates that turnout begins to increase at age 25 for reasons that likes of rock the vote have nothing to do with, continues to increase until mid-50s when it plateaus, and then begins to decline in early 70s (youngest and oldest - for different reasons - least likely to go to polls)...

youngest cohort of 18-24 year olds also held its own relative to 2000, comprising same 10% of actual electorate...

maybe too much is expected of young, they would have had real impact on outcome in swing states if their turnout reached level of parents and grandparents...of course, kerry/dems failed to address core economic issues...

btw: the 'nearly impossible' goal of 20 million young voters would have been just a bit more than number that turned out in 1992...

re. likes of rock the vote, it and its 'partners' in '20 million loud' campaign spent about $40 million registering 1.4 million people in 2004...at $37.50 per registration, the operation far exceeded $12-$20 per vote that person-to-person 'get out the vote - gotv - campaigns targeting youth cost (data on degree to which rtv registrants actually vote is non-existent, to best of my knowledge)...

in any event, some people who registered via rtv would have done so whether or not effort existed and some portion of 'new' registrations is just address changes for people who were already on rolls elsewhere...

at best, rock the vote expresses 'motor voter' intent - addressing registration, not turnout; about opportunity rather than motivation...

maybe youth 'popped' the vote (as in contrast between rock and pop music)... michael hoover

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