Written By: Saily Regueiro & Amanda Hudon
A national poll was conducted by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) to investigate the likelihood of young Americans voting in the this year’s presidential election.
In June and July 2012, CIRCLE, an independent academic research center that studies and presents data on young voters in all 50 states, polled 1,695 Americans between the ages of 18 and 29. The center then polled 1,109 of those same Americans in October 2012.
This study, commissioned by the Youth Engagement Fund (YEF), showed that between June/July and October, youth who say they are “very” or “extremely” likely to vote rose to 67.3 percent, up 7.1 percentage points. The portion “paying attention to the election” had also risen, from 56.1 percent to 71 percent.
Alexandra Acker-Lyons, director of the Youth Engagement Fund, said, “Young people have the power to have a great impact on the current political system.”
The survey showed that the number one issue concerning young voters is “jobs and the economy”, which rose to 37.9 percent in October — 26 points ahead of health care, the runner-up issue.
The study also showed a shift in attitude towards the country and politics, among young people, with 31 percent of respondents now feeling that the U.S. is headed in the right direction, up from 25.1 percent in June/July.
Peter Levine, director of the Center for Information and Research on Civic Engagement, said that young voters are largely able to change the outcome of a presidential election.
Many nonprofit organizations make the process of registering to vote easier for young people.
One such organization is Rock the Vote; its mission is to build the political power of young Americans. Rock the Vote sends out representative to institutions and events, in order to get people interested in the voting process.
Chrissy Faesson, a Rock the Vote representative, said the organization goes to wherever young people are, including college campuses, music festivals and sporting events. They use music, technology, and popular culture to engage potential young voters in discussion and to help them with voter registration.
“This year, Rock the Vote has registered over a million individuals for the 2012 presidential election,” said Faesson.
Sarah Rupp, freshman biology major, is passionate about the importance of voting.
“If we are going to sit here and complain about what we want to change, we should take advantage of the one thing that can make those changes happen,” said Rupp.
