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Young voters ‘had a huge impact’

November 5, 2008

Sen. Barack Obama won the presidency Tuesday night, and the University of Nevada, Reno may have played a role in that win.

“Young voters and students in Nevada had a huge impact on this election,” said Jeff Giertz, the Nevada deputy communications director for Obama for America. “Their level of excitement was higher in this election than in any I’ve been part of, than any in recent memory.”

According to CNN.com, exit polls showed that 67 percent of Nevada voters aged 18 to 29 voted for Obama and 32 percent for Sen. John McCain. That age group made up 17 percent of total Nevada voters.

“History has shown that the younger voter registers,” said Kathy Carter, community relations director for the Washoe County Registrar of Voters. “However, only one in four typically does vote. What we are seeing this year, though, is that yes, the younger voters are coming out.”

According to statistics from the Washoe County Registrar, the number of registered voters aged 18 to 24 in the county reached a record high of 26,478. Almost 11,000 registered with the Democratic Party.

Carter said that the UNR campus has “greatly facilitated” the ability of youth to vote in this election.

Obama took notice of UNR early in the election, visiting the campus once during the primaries and twice during the regular election.

“Washoe County and Northern Nevada were very important areas in this election,” Giertz said. “The purpose of the visits was to energize the youth vote.”

The power of the youth vote in Washoe County has garnered national attention.

As the only major university in a swing state’s swing county, UNR has piqued the interest of national media outlets.

CBS News’ Youth Vote Blog quoted the UNR campus newspaper, the Nevada Sagebrush, on the power of the young registered voters in the swing county of a swing state.

“In Washoe County alone, 26,478 youth voters are registered—almost 20,000 more than President Bush’s victory margin in 2004,” the article stated.

The Huffington Post took notice of the student vote, stating in one article that “UNR could be the key to the White House.”

Story by Colleen Hagen

Written by admin · Filed Under Voting 

Comments

3 Responses to “Young voters ‘had a huge impact’”

  1. Daniel Riggs on November 16th, 2008 9:58 pm

    Thanks for reading and plugging the blog.

  2. Obhhejag on July 14th, 2009 7:53 pm

    9dZufz

  3. Большая Советская Энциклопедия on October 1st, 2009 11:16 pm

    Спасибо, полезно!

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