MSNBC – Young voters register heavily in key states
18- to 24-year-olds are nation’s newest swing voters
The Associated Press
Voter registration drives aimed at young people are turning 18-to 24-year-olds into an important variable in the presidential election, especially in decisive battleground states such as Michigan — where nearly 100,000 young people have registered in recent months — and Wisconsin, where the numbers are even higher.
They are the nation’s newest swing voters, with polls showing their support for the major candidates has vacillated in recent months. A Harvard University poll found that, in a five-month period, 19 percent of young potential voters changed their minds about whom they’d support.
“It’s a big population of fluid voters, and they’re largely unknown,” says Ivan Frishberg, outreach and communications coordinator for the nonprofit New Voters Project, which has registered tens of thousands of young people across the country. …
Officials in several other battleground states — New Mexico, Ohio and Florida among them — see clear signs that more young people are interested in this election. And some election experts believe that polls of “likely voters” often miss young people because the population is so mobile. …
At that rate, he says Rock the Vote’s registration numbers may surpass those from 1992 — a year when young voter turnout topped 50 percent for the first and only time since 1972.
One political scientist says he’s particularly interested to see what happens this time in Minnesota, New Hampshire and Wisconsin, where voters can register on Election Day. Data has shown that young people are particularly likely to take advantage of same-day registration.
The New Voters Project Presidential Youth Debate
President Bush and Senator Kerry have agreed – in writing – to address your 12 greatest concerns through The New Voters Project Presidential Youth Debate. We’re proud to give under-35 year olds their first-ever opportunity to choose the questions answered by the top presidential candidates.
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