Wednesday, November 03, 2004

The Youth Vote

Izzy, my co-worker, made a very good point a moment ago. I know that I absentee voted back when I was in college and graduate school. So did Izzy. I know that is how Amybear voted this year. I didn't see an actual polling place until I finished my Masters and got a real job.

Exit polling will never show much of a voter turnout for the "youth" vote. Many/most voters between 18 and 22 are in college. They are far away from their voting district and lack transportation so they file absentee. Exit polling will under-represent them consistently because of this. The truth is their votes may not be counted for weeks. Because a ballot is not identified with an individual, no one will know the actual voter turnout for their age group.

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