Courting the Youth Vote in 2008: The Obama Effect
نویسنده
چکیده
This paper examines a few of the numerous factors that may have led to increased youth turnout in the 2008 Election. First, theories of voter behavior and turnout are related to courting the youth vote. Several variables that are perceived to affect youth turnout such as party polarization, perceived candidate difference, voter registration, effective campaigning and mobilization, and use of the internet, are examined. Over the past 40 years, presidential elections have failed to engage the majority of young citizens (ages 18-29) to the point that they became inclined to not participate. This trend of low youth voter turnout began to reverse starting in 2000 Election and the youth turnout reached its peak in 2008. While both short and long-term factors played a significant role in recent elections, high turnout among youth voters in 2008 can be largely attributed to the Obama candidacy and campaign, which mobilized young citizens in unprecedented ways.
منابع مشابه
Implicit and explicit prejudice in the 2008 American presidential election
0022-1031/$ see front matter 2009 Published by doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2009.11.001 * Corresponding author. Fax: +1 (919) 962 2537. E-mail address: [email protected] (B.K. Payne). The 2008 US presidential election was an unprecedented opportunity to study the role of racial prejudice in political decision making. Although explicitly expressed prejudice has declined dramatically during the last four decad...
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