CNN and other media sources are STILL reporting that 17% of the youth vote turned up in the latest election... which is clearly BS.

Where are they getting the 17% number? Let's take a look...

Percentage of total # of voters, followed by turnout as percentage of youth vote...

Battleground Non-Battleground
2004 19.4% 18.1%
Turnout
Amongst 64.7% 47.6%
18-29 y/olds
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2000 17% 16%
Turnout
Amongst 51% 38%
18-29 y/olds

So the only "17%" number I can find in stats available online is the one for what percentage of the TOTAL number of voters was comprised of the Youth Vote. Even so, the 17%number that has been repeated in multiple mainstream media sources is plain WRONG, as illustrated above.

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In the thread "Looking at the numbers - THEY DON'T ADD UP" I posted other numbers for the youth vote. There's a link at the end where these stats were gathered from...

Youth vote (18-29 year olds) turnout, as percentage of whole:
2004 : 51.6%
2000 : 42.3%
1996 : 34.9%
1992 : 47.9%

Raw number 20.9 million in 2004 as opposed to 16.2 million in 2000.

Vote Split by Candidate in 2004 and 2000
Kerry / Bush / Nader
54% 44% 1%
Gore / Bush / Nader
47.6% 46.2% 4.7%

PDF: http://www.civicyouth.org/PopUps/Release_Turnout2004.pdf

Just to clear the air, the youth vote went up 9.3%, and they swung MUCH more towards Kerry than Bush (and Nader dropped down as well).

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WTF is going on? The echo chamber is just getting worse on a daily basis now. The information was released on the 3rd, but at the end of the NEXT DAY, the blabbering bobble heads are STILL touting a false 17% number that makes the youth appear disaffected and uncaring. The reality appears to be much different.

If anyone has links to media sources claiming either the 17% number, or a HIGHER number, feel free link it here.

Labels: politics