College Students: A Growing Voter Demographic

For years, the 18 to 24-year-old voting demographic hasn’t been well represented come November, resulting in both campaigns rarely spending much time targeting them. However, with a growing number of students beginning to come alive in the election process, campaigns have been forced to tap into this newly interested market and utilize the internet to their advantage.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, around 12,122,000 citizens between the ages of 18 to 24 registered to vote in the 2000 presidential election. That made up about 50 percent of the demographics’ population. Of those registries, only 8,635,000 actually made it to the polls that year, a mere 36 percent of the entire group.

By the 2004 election, the numbers began to climb. A total of 14,334,000 members of the young demographic registered to vote, making up 57 percent of the population. More importantly, 11,639,000 of the 18 to 24-year-olds came out to vote, a total of 47 percent of the demographic. Information regarding who has registered for this election is not yet available, however due to the magnitude of this election and the efforts of both campaigns, it appears as though this trend of increasing involvement will continue.

For instance, campus groups at The College of William and Mary located in Williamsburg, VA believes they could get close to 3,000 students to register. According to Ian Brickey, a writer for William and Mary’s student news source The Flat Hat, groups such as the Student Assembly, Young Democrats and College Republicans have set up tables around campus with forms to allow students the chance to register in between classes or other activities. So far, an estimated 600-700 students have registered to vote, however the clubs expect many more before the deadline.

William and Mary is not the only Virginia college rallying voters before the election. According to Tamar Lewin of the New York Times, supporters of Senator Barack Obama signed up thousands of students on the campus by holding a voter-registration drive in early August.

So what does this mean for the candidates? With the increased involvement of 18 to 24-year-olds, campaigns will need up their focus on this demographic and focus on where to best get their attention. In the case of this age-group, it appears the internet may be the best medium.

Pew Internet’s American Life Project in 2002 compiled some compelling data regarding internet use. From the information gathered, Pew found that, “One-fifth (20 percent) of today’s college students began using computers between the ages of 5 and 8. By the time they were 16 to 18 years old all of today’s current college students had begun using computers – and the Internet was a commonplace in the world in which they lived.” Pew also found that 70 percent of college student check their email at least once a day, a number that has most likely gone up in the six years since the project was complete

According to my own non-scientific survey which accounts for over 100 college students, television is still where many college students get their election news, however online sources are a close second. Many students choose to use both sources, noting that what they hear on television has become less and less believable at times.

As far as candidate’s responses to the internet and the growing voter population of the student demographic, there has been progress. Facebook and MySpace pages of the candidates allow people to view their candidate’s interests and stances via some of the most popular sites of college students. They include trivial facts about the representative, political beliefs and updated campaign information. Overall the candidates seem to have adapted and pursued the correct venues, which is crucial considering it seems as though this demographic may be showing up in record numbers come November.