Youth Vote on the Rise!

Something big is happening in our democracy – young people are voting. Already, young people turned out in record numbers at the nation’s first caucus and primary contests of 2008.  The youth vote almost doubled in New Hampshire, tripled in Iowa and quadrupled in Tennessee. 

Right here in Colorado, the young voter energy this primary season was palpable.

For 25 years, CoPIRG and other Student PIRGs across the country have worked to mobilize young voters to the polls to reinvigorate our country’s democracy.

Since 2004, we’ve registered more than 103,000 young (18-30 yrs) Coloradoans to vote and made 135,000 personalized, peer to peer contacts to turn young people out to the polls.

An analysis of our work found that young people contacted by CoPIRG’s New Voters Project turned out at a rate 13 percentage points higher than a group of demographically similar individuals who also registered to vote within six months of the election.

2008 is no different.

In partnership with our sister chapters across the country, the CoPIRG Student Chapters played a key role this primary season in convincing the candidates to pay attention to young people and wiring campuses to turn out the youth vote.  

Working with a coalition of student groups on campus, CoPIRG student leaders organized a drive at Colorado campuses that registered more than 3,000 students to vote.  Students also organized ‘how to caucus’ trainings and reached thousands of students by invading classrooms with last minute pitches to turn out to vote.

 
Interest Builds in Colorado Caucus - January 10, 2008 

Read more about our work in Colorado and across the country to turn out the youth vote in the election so far and our plans for the coming months here.