Youth vote
T. Eve Greenaway writes on Alternet: Now that some of the smoke has cleared and the data has been crunched, it's clear that 2004 was, in fact, an amazing year for young voter participation. Whereas only 42 percent of 18-29 year-olds had voted in 2000, a whopping 51 percent showed up at the polls this year, making for a 9-point increase. The catch? Everyone else came out in record numbers too.
Hans Reimer, director of Rock the Vote, describes the youth turnout as "exceeding all expectations." He points out that the percentage of youth who came out to vote this year was four points higher than in 1992, a number he says is "phenomenal."
"1992 was a similar election" Reimer continues. "There were really sharp issues; there was a candidate who reached out to young people; there was tremendous interest in voting. It was also the first year of the MTV/Rock The Vote effort. Voting was part of the social movement." -- AlterNet: WireTap: The Truth About the Youth Vote