Reuters: Youth Voter Turnout in 2006 Biggest in 20 Years

Quite belatedly, here's an article about the 2006 youth voter turnout that you should read. With two elections in a row showing large increases in turnout, we're now looking to 2008 to prove conclusively whether this is indeed a new generation of voters.

Youth turnout in election biggest in 20 years
17:36 ET, Wed 8 Nov 2006

By Jason Szep

BOSTON, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Young Americans voted in the largest numbers in at least 20 years in congressional elections, energized by the Iraq war and giving a boost to Democrats, pollsters said on Wednesday.

About 24 percent of Americans under the age of 30, or at least 10 million young voters, cast ballots in Tuesday's elections that saw Democrats make big gains in Congress. That was up 4 percentage points from the last mid-term elections in 2002.

"This looks like the highest in 20 years," said Mark Lopez, research director of the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, which compiled the data based on exit polls. "Unfortunately, we can't say if it's a record because don't have good comparable data before 1986."

Rock the Vote, a youth-and-civics group, said young voters favored Democrats by a 22-point margin, nearly three times the margin Democrats earned among other age groups and dealing a potentially decisive blow to Republicans in tight races.