Election 2002

New York Governor

Where Have All the Young Voters Gone?

Nov. 4 -- The 2002 election may be decided with the least number of youth votes in history. If so, the turn out will reflect both record-low faith in the political process and minimal effort by political candidates to attract young voters, according to several recent reports.

Meanwhile, some New York youth advocacy organizations are hoping the youth voters they worked so hard to register this fall will actually go to the polls on Tuesday.

"Maybe it's just the economy, but people aren't really thinking about voting right now," said Christopher Perry, who heads a youth voter education and registration drive at the Covenant House youth shelter in New York. "Most kids are like: Vote? Why do I need to vote?"

According to a recent study published by Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, nearly half of college-age students polled said they rarely see any tangible results from political action. Eighty-four percent told researchers they view community volunteerism as a more effective way to solve important local issues.

But that strong sentiment could easily be reversed, according to a Yale University study of youth voting drives published in May. That study found that door-to-door, get-out-the-vote canvassing of neighborhoods immediately resulted in a 10 percent increase in youth voter participation. Such last-minute activity also had a five percent "spillover" effect on the rest of the household. The Harvard study concurred, finding that young people would vote more often if they had direct contact with their candidates.

In June and September, New York gubernatorial candidates Carl McCall and Tom Golisano visited Covenant House in one of their few direct attempts to rally the youth vote. Perry said his own efforts there had already resulted in about 250 new voter registrants, but the politicians' visits had a far greater impact.

"That in and of itself was a huge motivating event for these kids," Perry said. "For the kids to actually take part in their own advocacy really got them motivated to go out and vote."

Two hundred youths applauded Golisano's pledge to make state college tuition free to state residents during his September visit. And the young adults took the opportunity to communicate their own agenda, placing jobs and affordable housing for the city's poor at the top of their lists.

Based on his experience, Perry said, the youth voting trend could be reversed with a little more effort on the part of the candidates. It's the old chicken-and-egg dilemma. Is low youth voter turnout due to a lack of interest in politics among youth, or a lack of interest in youth among the candidates?

A spokesperson for the McCall Campaign did not agree that more attention by candidates could reverse low youth voter turnout. "I think that generally youth have other things on their minds and are thinking more about how they are going to pay for their rent," said Marissa Shorenstein.

Since the right to vote was extended to Americans younger than 20 years old by the 26th Amendment in 1972, the number of youth voters who have actually used their privilege has steadily declined. Only 37 percent of registered 18- to 24-year-olds voted nationwide in 2000, compared to 51 percent of adult voters, according to a September study by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning.

In the last midterm election, in 1998, only 17 percent of youth voters went to the polls. The youth bracket makes up 13 percent of the national population, but only 8 percent of voters. No youth voting statistics were available for New York State or New York City, but statistically they are expected to align with the national average.

"Basically," Perry said. "We have to motivate them to go out and vote."