IOP Hosts Talk on Youth Vote

MINNEAPOLIS—Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson '94 moderated a discussion on the emerging trends among the youth vote in elections during an Institute of Politics panel event held on Tuesday in conjunction with the Republican National Convention.

The discussion, which took place at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Minneapolis, gave Harvard affiliates and young Republicans from across the country a chance to learn more about the oft-discussed trajectory of voting patterns among American youth.

"So much attention has been paid to the youth vote, especially since this group has become more active in politics in recent years," said Grayson, who is also a member of the IOP Senior Advisory Board. "But what we need to understand is what the rise of the youth vote means for this election and for future cycles."

Carl M. Cannon, a contributing editor for National Journal magazine and an IOP Fellow during the spring of 2007, talked about the events that led to the passing of the 26th Amendment, which lowered the minimum voting age to 18 years old.

"In the Civil War, there was a running joke about how most soldiers were old enough to shoot, but too young to vote," Cannon said. "That sentiment remained alive for another century before the Vietnam War, an unpopular and unsuccessful war that used young draftees as soldiers, created the perfect storm for the 26th Amendment."

Although the conventional wisdom in the lead-up to amendment’s passage was that new, young voters would vote liberal, Cannon noted that the 1972 presidential election proved that notion false, as young people abandoned Democrat George McGovern's campaign in droves for Republican Richard Nixon's successful candidacy. That result happened again in 1980, as young people overwhelmingly turned out to support Republican Ronald Reagan.

"But in 2004, the old conventional wisdom finally became reality as Kerry carried the youth vote by a wide margin," Cannon said.

Kerry benefited from increased efforts to mobilize the youth vote in 2004, according to panelist Paloma A. Zapeda '06.

"Young people want to get involved, and we view ourselves as citizens of the world," said Zapeda. "But liking international organizations like the U.N. doesn't make us liberal. It's not like we're going to have a party at the U.N. headquarters."

Zapeda, who is currently studying at Harvard Law School, said that youth voters largely resist traditional political labels but do care about specific issues, including Iraq and the economy.

"We understand these issues and we don't like being pandered to by politicians and political organizations," she said.

—Staff writer Prateek Kumar can be reached at kumar@fas.harvard.edu.