Revised Estimates Show Higher Iowa Voter Turnout than Expected

By newsdesk - Posted on January 8th, 2008

Iowa Youth Turnout Rate More than Triples

Washington, D.C. - 01/04/2008 - Thirteen percent of eligible Iowans under the age of 30 participated in last night’s Iowa caucuses, according to preliminary analysis by CIRCLE (The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement). The youth turnout rate rose to 13 percent in 2008 from 4 percent in 2004 and 3 percent in 2000.

Young voters expanded as a proportion of all caucus-goers, and the total number of Iowans who caucused grew, producing the three-fold increase in youth participation. Youth supported both winners—Senator Barack Obama (D) and Governor Mike Huckabee (R)—by the largest margins of any age group.

The turnout rate has historically been low in Iowa caucuses, but the youth turnout rate was much higher tonight than in recent years. This result continues a trend observed in other elections since 2000. In the 2006 congressional elections, the voter turnout rate among 18-to-29-year-olds increased by three percentage points compared to the previous congressional election of 2002. And in the 2004 presidential election, the national youth voter turnout rate rose 9 percentage points compared to 2000, reaching 49 percent. In 2004, under-30-year olds were registered to vote at the highest rate in 30 years.

“Younger Americans are doing their part, registering to vote, paying more attention to issues and politics, and now turning out for the Iowa caucuses,” said CIRCLE Director Peter Levine. “Now it is up to political leaders to reach out to younger Americans and run campaigns that address their issues and concerns.”

Definitions

Youth: For the purpose of the Iowa caucuses, we define “youth” as citizens who will be between the ages of 18 and 29 on Election Day, 2008.

Number of youth who caucused: An estimate of how many youth participated.

Youth share caucus-goers: An estimate of the number of young people who participated in the caucuses as a percentage of the number of all people who participated in the caucuses.

Youth turnout rate: An estimate of the number of young people who participated in the caucuses as a percentage of the total number of young people who were eligible to participate in either caucus.

The youth turnout rate is the best indicator of how young Americans are engaging in the political process. The other statistics—the sheer number of youth participants and the youth share of the electorate—can change because of factors unrelated to youth engagement.

CIRCLE (The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement) promotes research on the civic and political engagement of Americans between the ages of 15 and 25. Since 2001, CIRCLE has conducted, collected, and funded research on the civic and political participation of young Americans. CIRCLE is based in the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy and is funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, Carnegie Corporation of New York and several other foundations.

Source: Pew

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