YDA provides research and statistics to our chapters to help make the case for investing in youth voting programs. Below are some highlights of the best research on youth voting currently available.

Young Voters:
The New Democratic Base

The 2008 election cycle is crucial to the consolidation of a Democratic youth base.  Studies have shown that if a voter casts a ballot for one political party three elections in a row, they are likely to remain a loyal party voter for the rest of their lives.  If young voters are mobilized to vote for Democrats in the 2008 election cycle, as they were in 2004 and 2006, we will successfully create a bloc of young voters who make voting – and voting for Democratic candidates – part of their civic identity.  But, young people will only turn out when targeted, communicated with, and made to feel included in the process. 

The Young Democrats of America is turning young Democratic voters into a political force.  YDA‘s own field experiments, as well as numerous independent studies, have shown that young people will vote if asked and are more likely to cast a ballot when contacted by one of their peers.  Since 2004, YDA has run proven, peer-to-peer, voter mobilization campaigns to motivate young people to vote for Democratic candidates.  In partnership with our nationwide network of state and local chapters, YDA will run highly effective programs in 2007 and 2008, aimed at turning out young voters for Democrats up and down the ballot. 

We Are Growing

Commonly called the Millennial Generation or Generation Y, young voters rival the Baby Boomers in size.

• Voters ages 18-29 were 21% of the electorate (41.9 million) in 2006.
  
  
• Millennials will be nearly 50 million strong in 2008.
  
  
• By 2015, this generation will make up one-third of the electorate.

We are the most diverse generation in history.

• 39% of Millennials identify as non-white, while over 81% of those over 65 identify as white.
  
  
• Young Latinos account for the largest percentage of the population boom.
  
  
• The vast majority of young people are not in college; in fact, only an estimated 25% of 18-24 year-olds attend a four-year college full time.

We Are Engaged

The increase in young voter turnout is not a myth or “fuzzy math.”  In 2006, for the second election in a row, turnout increased among 18-29 year-olds.

• Approximately 10 million young voters went to the polls in 2006, up nearly 2 million from 2002, according to 2006 exit poll analysis.
  
  
• The 2004 elections marked the largest increase in young voter turnout since 1972.  Over 20 million young people ages 18-29 case a ballot (42 million were eligible to vote), an increase of 4.3 million voters.  This was a 9 point increase in turnout over 2000, more than double that of any other age group.  In 2004, there were more voters under 30 years old than voters over 65 years old.
  
  
• In the 10 most competitive 2004 battleground states, turnout was 64.4% among young voters, compared to 48% across all other states.  Like older voters, young people will turn out in higher numbers when targeted.
  
  
• Young people care about politics.  According to a recent Pew Research Center poll, 77% of 18-29 years olds say they are interested in local politics, up 28 points from 1999, and 87% are interested in national affairs.
  
  
• Millennials volunteer in record numbers.  They possess strong values and political opinions and connect volunteerism to social activism.  And they will vote if asked.

We Are Democrats

Young voters are trending Democratic.  Young people are with Democrats on the issues and turn out to vote when mobilized by candidates.

• In 2006, young voters ages 18-29 supported Democratic candidates by an impressive 58%, six points higher than the voting-age population as a whole.  Democrats made gains with young independents while Republicans lost ground with their young voters.
  
  
• Harvard University’s Institute of Politics credits young voters with victories in the Virginia and Montana Senate races.  Increased turnout in Charlottesville and Norfolk, both large college towns, made the difference for Jim Webb in Virginia, while turnout at the University of Montana put Jon Tester over the top in Montana.  Freshman Members of Congress Joe Courtney (CT-2), Harry Mitchell (AZ-5), and Patrick Murphy (PA-8) also owe their margins of victory to young voters.
  
  
• Young people are increasingly self-identifying as Democrats.  Unlike the general population, party identification has increased among young voters.  In 2006, 43% of young voters called themselves Democrats as compared to 37% just two years ago.  Among all ages, 38% identify as Democrats, up only two points from 2004.
  
  
• Young people ages 18-30 were the ONLY age group to support the Democratic ticket in 2004.  Kerry received 54% of the youth vote to Bush’s 44%.  This is a significant gain over 2000, when Gore and Bush split the youth vote nearly evenly, 47%-46%.
  
  
• Support for Democratic congressional candidates has steadily increased 10 points since 1998, when young people split their vote at 48% each.
  
  
• Young African-Americans, young Hispanics, and young women are particularly inclined to support Democrats, both on the generic ballot and when asked about specific candidates.
  
  
• Young voters support Democrats on the issues.  On the war in Iraq, college affordability, the economy, health care, and general support for government programs, young people cite Democrats as being better able to handle the issues that matter most.