New Voters Project 2006 Results

11/14/2006

Executive Summary

2006 New Voters Project

The Student PIRGs’ New Voters Project teamed up with the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement to measure the impacts of the Student PIRGs’ voter turnout work in five states: Ohio, Connecticut, Iowa, Colorado and Michigan (work in MI conducted by Michigan Votes)

The 2005 analysis focused on 36 precincts with a relatively high concentration of college students that were the focus of non-partisan Get-Out-the-Vote efforts of the Student PIRGs’ New Voters Project. 

The analysis compared each precinct’s 2002 and 2006 voter turnout numbers and found that voter turnout increased by an average of 156.94%.  Tables detailing the analysis is below.

This increase is six times the national average increase of ballots cast by youth adults (25%, according to an exit poll analysis conducted by CIRCLE). 

Turnout in several of the precincts studied increased between three to five times.  For example, turnout at Precinct 103 at the University of Colorado–Boulder increased threefold, while turnout at Precinct 1 at the University of Connecticut increased fivefold.

There were several election results that came in after the study was completed that confirm this study’s conclusion.  For example, all thirteen student-heavy wards at the University of Wisconsin Madison posted increases, with turnout at three wards (42, 46, 60) doubling.

Table 1: Analysis of Targeted Precincts

*Turnout data provided by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement’s tabulations and analysis of raw precinct data, November 2006.