With no clear front-running presidential nominee in either party, political scientists and analysts agree youth voter participation has had an increased impact in the primary season and has particularly affected the race for the Democratic ticket.
Youth voters are generally those individuals between the ages of 18 and 25, although the category is expanded in some cases to between 18 and 30, said several UC professors.
“The basic idea is people in school, or just out of school, or beginning adult life,” said Bruce Cain, executive director at the UC Washington Center of the age demographic that captures the youth group.
Youth voter participation in this election has been mostly attributed to the candidacy of Barack Obama, who gains much of his support from younger voters, said Jack Citrin, professor of political science at UC Berkeley.
“I think Obama’s appeal to youth is on the basis of style and general appeal to idealism, change, something different,” he said.
Obama has also been popular among younger voters because he has maintained a platform of being against the status quo, said Matthew Baum, associate professor of political science at UCLA.
“In any other year, Hillary Clinton would (have been) the most amazing thing. But because of Obama, the novelty of a candidate being female has been replaced by the novelty of the candidate being African American,” Baum said.
Obama has also been seen by voters as being able to restore the idealism in the Democratic Party, which was not a focus of the politics in the 1990s, Cain said.
However, Cain also said the amount of youth support that led to Sen. Obama’s win in the Iowa caucus has not yet been paralleled, although there is potential for such an occurrence in California because of the open primary system.
In general, Cain said, young voters are responsive to idealism and charisma in candidates.
In light of the Iowa caucus in which youth voter turnout was a significant factor contributing to Sen. Obama’s victory, Sen. Clinton has made efforts to increase her appeal among younger voters.
Clinton traveled with younger voters before the New Hampshire primary. Recently, her daughter Chelsea Clinton has also campaigned by visiting several colleges, including UCLA.
Cain said these efforts have helped stabilize Sen. Clinton’s campaign, and she was able to rally young women to support her before winning the New Hampshire primary.
Teddy Schwartz, president of Bruins for Hillary, said there has been an increase in the number of members since Chelsea Clinton’s visit.
Citrin and Baum, however, both said that Sen. Clinton’s recent efforts to reach out to younger voters will not have a significant impact overall.
“Her daughter is certainly an asset, but it’s a marginal asset, because at the end of the day, people know Hillary Clinton, and they are going to make up their mind about her,” Baum said.
On the Republican side, there has been significantly less involvement from young voters, said several UC professors.
Citrin said this is because the Republican race has not yet established clear front-runners.
The exception, Cain said, has been Ron Paul, who is not being perceived as a front-runner but has gained a lot of support among younger Republicans.
“It’s because he has a very ideological perspective and he is No. 1 against the Iraq War and would pull back our troops, which is something that is very popular among younger conservatives,” said Mark Stefanos, marketing director for Bruin Republicans.
Cain said that the reason for generally low participation rates for young voters is twofold.
First, young voters are generally less invested in political issues. Second, as a result of moving around frequently, young voters might have to register multiple times, Cain said.
In this election however, youth voter turnout has exceeded previous trends.
“To date, in recent elections, we wouldn’t say the youth vote has been critical or particularly targeted, but there has been potential in this election,” Cain added.
Baum said that while the impact of young voters in the primaries is clear, it remains uncertain if their enthusiasm will translate into the general election.
“The more they come out, the more they’ll be heard,” Baum said.