CoPIRG Students Spur Increased Youth Turnout For Colorado Caucus
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ENGAGING YOUNG VOTERS—CoPIRG students Alexandra Oatman and Kassidy Benson speak to presidential candidate Mike Gravel before Colorado’s caucus. |
Colorado’s Feb. 5 caucus drew a dramatic increase in the number of young people voting. CoPIRG students helped make it happen by contacting thousands of young people in the days leading up to the caucus, and urging them to turn out and vote regardless of who they favored.
Elsewhere in the country, youth voting in New Hampshire and Iowa surged, setting the stage for the most youth-focused primary season since 18-year-olds gained the right to vote in 1971.
Rachel Latta of CoPIRG’s New Voters Project reports that the youth turnout in the Iowa caucuses more than tripled the turnout of 2004, providing much of the margin of victory for both winners.
“We know that once young people vote, they’re more likely to develop a habit of lifetime civic engagement,” said Latta. “That’s good for the country.”
As Colorado prepares to go to the polls in the fall, CoPIRG’s New Voters Project will be working to ensure strong youth turnout in the general election.
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