Voting: Is It Just For Old People?: A Study of Youth Voting Behavior in PresidentialElections

In 2004, the clothing retailer Urban Outfitters solda t-shirt with the slogan, Voting is for OldPeople". Did Urban Outfitters step over the line orwere they a reflection of the sate of our democracyand the demographics of current voters? Manyorganizations have developed to combat the problem oflow youth voter turnout and disengagement. One of themost well-known organizations is Rock the Vote. Inits 18 year existence has youth turnout increased? Have their efforts been futile or on the other sidehave they been successful in paving the way for theyouth to demand attention from the government and beheard? The purpose of this research is to measurethe effects of the efforts targeted toward youthvoters over the past 18 years in terms of voterturnout using American National Election StudiesData. The results show that voting is not just forold people. "