Writing history

Pundits promised young voters would turn out in record numbers for the 2008 general election Tuesday, and for once, they were right.

Poll workers saw 22 to 24 million voters between the ages of 18 and 29 voting in Tuesday’s election, 2.2 million more young voters than in 2004, according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.

Sixty-six percent of 18 to 29 year-olds voted for Barack Obama, giving him a sturdy margin that secured his victory, according to CIRCLE. The youth vote helped Obama achieve a 34-point margin over Sen. John McCain, a figure that tripled John Kerry’s margin over George W. Bush in 2004.

Civic engagement, enthusiasm and thousands of young people willing to volunteer combined to form ‘a perfect storm year’ for this election, Young Democrats of America Executive Director Alexandra Acker said.

‘We had a candidate who took the youth vote seriously,’ Acker said. ‘He knew they really cared about the issues.’

The Young Democrats of America are hoping the up-and-coming Democratic voters who participated in Tuesday’s historic election will continue participating in politics until they become Democratic leaders, Acker said.

Young voters tend to identify easily with the Democratic Party, CIRCLE research consultant Karlo Marcelo said.

Members of the Young Republicans, an organization composed of 18 to 40 year-old conservatives, said the GOP-centered group makes member gains every year. Young Republicans Northeast regional vice chairman Karen Sauter said young voters do not completely understand voting issues and instead support the candidate who is popular among their peers.

‘When you are young, it is easy to take values that don’t have anything to do with you,’ she said. ‘I was exposed to every message that says it’s nice to belong. It is very rebellious to be a Republican, especially in Massachusetts.’

Sauter said the hype surrounding the election among young voters is beneficial because it allows young people to develop new ideas and practice debating so they can refine their opinions.

College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Kathleen Meehan said she struggled between her Republican upbringing and Democratic surroundings throughout this election.

‘If people make an informed decision, that’s fine, but if people decide to vote for Obama because everyone else around them did, that counters the point of an election,’ Meehan said.

Young voters are more progressive and educated because of flashbulb historic events like Sept. 11, the Clinton scandal and the War in Iraq, Young Voter Political Action Committee director Jane Fleming Kleeb said.

‘Young people could have turned away from government and politics because they saw them not doing as well, but instead they decided that it needed to change,’ Kleeb said. ‘We see this as the ‘Yes We Can’ revolution for younger voters.’

Voters between the ages of 18 and 29 are the most active generation in decades, Bus Project Foundation acting executive director Caitlin Baggott said.

‘This election was a gateway drug to politics for younger voters,’ she said.