Among the nation's voters, older Americans outnumber those under 30 by nearly three to one. Recent studies not only show this underrepresentation among younger voters, but that the younger voters hold very different views-views that most likely remained silent at the polls this month. The effect, according to a recent article in The Washington Post is "an accelerating cycle of political disengagement." Appeals to older voters are pervasive while the "constituency in waiting" of younger voters remain unaddressed and disengaged from the political and civic process. Recent studies from the YouthVote Coalition, The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), and the Center for Voting and Democracy, and the Post/Kaiser/Harvard study reveal new data on the state of the youth vote.

FINDINGS

Youth Participation

• There are 42 million voters between the ages of 18 and 30, but fewer than 13 percent will vote.

• Although people usually become more conscientious about voting when they become older, no generation has caught up with pre-WW I generations for voter turnout.

• Many older and younger voters prove distrustful of government, but young people who are cynical about the political process were 30 to 40 percent less likely than older cynics to plan to vote.

• For young adults overall, 33 percent identify themselves as Republicans and 27 percent as Democrats.

  2002 Primary Participation

• According to a report on the 2002 primary turnout conducted by the Committee for the Study of the American Electorate (CSAE), the average level of voter turnout in two-party statewide primaries and within each major party are now more than 50 percent lower then they were in the late 1960s and early 70s.

• The average percentile of eligible voters who participate in the primary dropped from 29.2 percent in 1962 to 16.2 percent in 2002.

• In the 2002 primary, nine of the sixteen states that held primaries in both major parties had new record lows for turnout.

Youth Attitudes

• Only 50 percent of youth in the 15-25 category say they discussed politics, government or current events with their parents (down from 57 percent in 1998). Nineteen percent "never" discuss these events. Fifteen percent often discuss them.

• Fifty percent say voting is important; 49 percent rate it "unimportant."

• Forty-six percent say they can make a difference in solving community problems; 52 percent feel they can make little or no difference.

• Only 53 percent believe politics, elections, and government address their concerns.

• Seventy percent believe that the majority of people "just look out for themselves."

DID YOU KNOW?

• Traditionally, women register as democrats, but the gender gap is closing as more women under thirty register as independents or third-party supporters.
• In 1974, about 30 percent of all 25-year-olds voted. This month, 23 percent are expected to visit the polls.

• In a survey of attitudes, young adults see voting as a choice, not a duty.

• Only 11 percent of youth 15-25 engage in electoral and civic activities.

• Sixty percent of youth 15-25 say homosexuality should be "tolerated" as any other group of mainstream society.

• Sixty percent of youth in the 15-25 category believe that immigrants "strengthen the country."