Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
One of the phenomenal things about this election has been the participation of young voters. Young and first-time voters were watching intently as the networks projected Barrack Obama the next President of the United States.
When Obama was declared the winner, young voters gathered for a party at the University of Utah jumped, shouted and cheered, hugging each other and raising their banners and signs. This moment not only marks the first moment in history of an election of an African American as President of the United States, but marks a moment for young voters. It was Obama's campaign that drove young voters for the first time in a long, long time to registration, early voting, and participation in the campaigns.
The phenomenon occurred on campuses across the country. From here young Republicans and Democrats hope the excitement continues even after Obama is sworn into office in January.
Ben Dailey, with the University of Utah Hinckley Institute, said, "The young voter has been a higher focus. There's been kind of an old saying, I believe that I've heard: ‘What do you call a candidate who focuses on the youth vote? The loser!' That's no longer the case."
Dailey should know. He was part of a national group of students representing more than 100 different colleges and universities that gathered in Cambridge earlier this year to come up with ideas to get more young voters out to vote. But the incentive -- the seed -- was already planted.
This election had already triggered a passion, an enthusiasm to get involved like never before. Take the University of Utah; the campaign registered more than 3,000 students, which represents about 10 percent of the campus.
Seven-thousand students voted early at a satellite voting station on campus. That represents about 60 percent of the students and 40 percent from the community. That was the second-highest satellite station turnout in Salt Lake County.
A student from East High showed up at the Student Union at the University of Utah asking where she could vote. "I'm taking AP government and politics, and we've been discussing how this is going to be a big voting turnout," she said.
A 19-year-old student said he's excited but wishes he were in a different state. "It's nice to feel like you have some control over the whole thing, but also, living in Utah it kind of feels like the election's already been decided," he said.
Dailey and Andrew Jensen, with the Associated Students at the University of Utah, call the young voter enthusiasm: phenomenal.
Jensen said, "Absolutely, without a doubt. There was at least, and the way I gauge it or what I can compare it to, I guess, is the 2004 election. There wasn't much excitement on the college campuses in the 2004 election, but there is a marked difference in the 2008 election."
It was not until 1972 that people between 18 and 21 could vote.
For KSL's complete coverage on the 2008 election, click the related link to the right of the story.
E-mail: eyeates@ksl.com
E-mail: tcallan@ksl.com
