From today's NYTimes:
"Rock the Vote, aimed at getting out the youth vote, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. The group acknowledges in promotional material that midterm turnout is historically lower, but it is nonetheless ramping up efforts and has set a goal to register at least 200,000 young voters this year (four times its 2006 registration).
In contrast, older voters do not need much prodding. Nancy LeaMond, AARP's executive vice president for social impact, said: "We have not concentrated specifically on convincing our members that it's important to vote. We don't have to. That's a core value."
History shows that a jump in turnout among young people would be unprecedented in an off-year election. Exit poll data shows that the electorate skews older, particularly in nonpresidential election years. In 2006, 63 percent of those who cast ballots were 45 or older, and in 2008, that same age group made up 53 percent of the electorate, according to exit poll data from the National Election Pool. This group made up about half of the adult population in those years.
"Habitual voters will show up for every election, and the sort of people that are habitual voters are what political scientists consider to be higher socioeconomic status - they are more educated and they also tend to be older," said Michael McDonald, a professor of government at George Mason University and an expert in voter statistics.
In the summer of 1994, Congressional approval was almost as low as it is now, and President Bill Clinton's approval rating was in the mid-40s, much like President Obama's today. While the nation's economy was weak, it was not as fragile as it is today. On Election Day 1994, when Democrats lost control of Congress, only 13 percent of those who voted were under the age of 30."
