The communicator, fall 2012

              Oklahoma Campus Compact Fall 2012 Newsletter
file:///Y|/Newsletters/Communicator/Oklahoma%20Campus%20Compact%20Fall%202012%20Newsletter.htm[2/1/2013 4:11:20 PM]
The Communicator
Fall 2012
Civic Engagement
Youth Vote Impact
Young people age 18-29
made their impact felt again
in the 2012 election.
According to turnout
estimates released by the
Center for Information and
Research on Civic Learning
and Engagement (CIRCLE)
at Tufts University, an
estimated 23 million young
Americans under the age of
30 voted in the 2012
presidential election, with youth voter turnout at 50% of those
eligible to vote. This turnout rate was very close to the 2008 rate
of 52%, and 2004 rate of close to 50%, indicating that youth held
steady in their participation. The Center for the Study of the
American Electorate at American University puts the 2012 voter
turnout at 58% of all eligible voters, compared to 62% who voted
in 2008, and 60% who cast ballots in 2004. As this generation
continues to grow into voting age eligibility, its proportion of the
overall voting turnout has increased. Youth made up 19% of
voters in this year's presidential election, compared to 18% in the
2008 election, and 17% in the 2004 election. The 18-29 year
olds are 21% of the 2012 voting eligible population.
Not only did the youth turn out, they made an impact. The
CIRCLE data (http://www.civicyouth.org/) shows that if 50% of
the youth had voted differently, or if they had all stayed home, in
the four swing states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Florida,
those states' electoral votes would have changed and
transformed the outcome of the presidential election. Concerning
Oklahoma, while the overall voter turnout in the non-battleground
states was much lower than the average turnout, the Center for
the Study of the American Electorate indicates that Oklahoma
experienced one of the lowest turnout rates of all. Data for the
youth vote at the state level are not yet available. Considering
the lack of polling places on Oklahoma higher education
campuses, the extreme brevity of early voting opportunity
compared with many other states, and the challenging process to
vote by absentee ballot, Oklahoma's youth turnout will be an
interesting comparison to that of other states where more
convenient registration and voting systems are in place.
Oklahoma Campus Compact would like to thank and congratulate
all educators throughout the state for your role in encouraging
youth to get informed and participate in this very basic and
critical form of civic engagement, and we look forward to working
with you to continue this work.
2012 Oklahoma Campus Compact Voter Registration
Contest Winners
In This Issue
Programs Update
Professional Development
www.okhighered.org/campus-com/
If you have any
questions about items in
this newsletter or need
assistance, please contact:
Ms. Gina Wekke, Executive
Director
Oklahoma Campus Compact
Post Office Box 108850
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
73101
(405) 225-9150
gwekke@osrhe.edu