Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Youth vote in Nevada drops, spelling problems for Obama

Voter drive

Las Vegas Sun

An elections specialist for the city clerk’s office Marilee Forst, right, gives Maya Washington, left, and Trisha Elago, middle, an information card with important voting dates during a voter registration drive at Nevada State College on Sept. 3, 2008.

Click to enlarge photo

Young Nevadans have dropped off the voter rolls at a precipitous rate since 2008, portending trouble for President Barack Obama’s re-election bid in this swing state, a nonpartisan analysis shows.

Nevada voter registration rolls have shrunk by 117,000 since the 2008 election, when Obama trounced Republican John McCain by 12 percentage points here. At that time, 1,446,538 voters were registered in Nevada.

Of the voters who dropped off, 51,000 — or 43 percent — are between ages 18 and 24, the analysis by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) found.

Young voters made up 11 percent of Nevada’s registered voters in 2008, but only 7.85 percent in October 2011.

Young and first-time voters played a key role in Obama’s victory. Some exit polling showed two out of three young people backed Obama.

A question as Obama begins his re-election campaign is whether the enthusiasm that fueled his victory can be recaptured.

Peter Levine, director of CIRCLE, which is based at Tufts University, said registering young voters is like running on a treadmill. Nationwide, about 4 million people turn 18 each year.

But other factors play a role in the decline.

“I expect there’s some decline in enthusiasm in voting compared to 2008,” Levine said. “That doesn’t mean someone can’t reignite the enthusiasm. But at this moment, there’s less of it.”

The Nevada Democratic Party said there is a natural decline in voters as people move and don’t re-register until the next presidential election.

“Our registration and voter mobilization effort has just begun,” Zach Hudson, spokesman for the state party, said in a statement.

Voters are considered inactive if they move and don’t register to vote at their new address. They can still vote, but only at their old address.

On Wednesday, the Democratic Party issued a news release arguing that Republican turnout in Tuesday’s Iowa presidential caucus was disappointing and showed that Republicans are not motivated to turn out against Obama.

But young Republican leaders say they have seen a change in the attitudes of their peers.

“A lot of younger students who supported Barack Obama in 2008 are disappointed,” said Thomas McAllister, president of the UNLV College Republicans. “Look at the job market. If you graduate, you’re not able get a job right now in the state.”

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