FOR OBAMA, THE YOUTH VOTE IS INCREDIBLY
IMPORTANT, THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A
POTENTIAL WIN AND LOSS.
points in a recent Pew Research
Center poll. Many young voters
aren’t enamored of the laissezfaire economic positions Romney champions, with roughly
seven in 10 favoring increased
taxes for wealthy Americans and
government policies aimed at
narrowing the gap between rich
and poor, according to a recent
survey of 18- to 24-year-olds
by the Public Religion Research
Institute and Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs.
Still, the key factor determining who will occupy the White
House is likely to be turnout:
Young voters went to the polls
in relatively large numbers four
years ago, and signs suggest
turnout will be lower this time,
potentially spelling fewer votes
for Obama. In the estimation
of some experts, that could be
enough to cost the president
crucial battleground states like
— John Della Volpe
Director of Polling, Harvard University Institute of Politics
North Carolina, Virginia and
Ohio, perhaps tipping the election to Romney.
“For Obama, the youth vote
is incredibly important, the difference between a potential win
and loss,” says John Della Volpe, director of polling at Harvard University’s Institute of
Politics. “On almost every single attitudinal measure we have
that would help predict turnout, all those attitudinal measures are down or depressed.”
As some of Meghan Gilliland’s
friends graduated from UNC in
the spring of 2009, most failed
to find jobs in their fields. When
Matt graduated from North
Carolina State University the
following May, carrying $8,000
in student loan debt, he, too,
confronted slender prospects.
He had hoped to find a position
at a non-profit, but he settled
for part-time delivery work at
Pizza Hut and Jimmy John’s, the