Enthusiasm Doesn't Always Equal Votes

Enthusiasm Doesn't Always Equal Votes
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2012-11-09-TurnoutEnthusiasmTrend1.JPG

The graph above tracks two measures of youth enthusiasm compared with youth voter turnout over five presidential elections.

By: Robyn Gee

The graphic above, created by CIRCLE, tracks youth "enthusiasm" over the past five presidential elections, coupled with youth voter turnout. You can see that there was a surge in 2008 in terms of youth enthusiasm, but the turnout trend didn't follow that surge.

The graph uses two measures of enthusiasm: "Followed the election closely," and "Thought about the election 'quite a lot.'" Felicia Sullivan, Senior Researcher at CIRCLE, pointed out that the gap between the number of young people who voted, and the number of people who followed the election closely, is the same in 2012 as it was in 2004.

In 2008, many more young people were following the election closely, but turnout didn't change. People may have overestimated turnout based on various measures of enthusiasm.

Graphic created by researchers at CIRCLE, the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University.

Originally published on Youthradio.org, the premier source for youth generated news throughout the globe.

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