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Voter turnout among 18-29 age group falls below 2006 level

Jeremy Moberly of West Carrollton votes using a paper ballot Tuesday, Nov. 2, in a polling place at Cox Arboretum in Miami Twp. Moberly opted for the paper ballot because,

Jan Underwood Jeremy Moberly of West Carrollton votes using a paper ballot Tuesday, Nov. 2, in a polling place at Cox Arboretum in Miami Twp. Moberly opted for the paper ballot because, "I'm not really trusting of those things just yet," he said, gesturing toward the voting machines.

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By Terry Morris and Katie Wedell, Staff Writers Updated 11:37 PM Saturday, November 6, 2010

The number of young adults who voted Tuesday was substantially lower than the 2008 presidential election and even lower than turnout for the mid-term election in 2006.

Nationally, the 20.4 percent turnout in the 18-29 age group didn’t even match the 25 percent in the 2006 midterm election, according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University. In 2008, the year President Barack Obama was elected, 51 percent of voters 18-29 voted.

Dayton-area college students suggested several reasons why only 14 percent of voters younger than 30 told an Ohio Newspaper Poll they had been “extremely interested” in the outcome on this year’s elections.

Most of the students in an Ohio government class at Wright State University on Friday said they went to the polls, but not with the engagement they felt in 2008.

Some students expressed disappointment with the administration of President Obama.

Heather Jones voted for Gov. Ted Strickland despite a sense that Obama has had little impact during his first two years in the White House. She’s wondering, “Where’s the change?”

Phillip Wells, a Democrat, finds it “inexcusable” Obama has “backed off campaign promises” about troop reductions and gay rights legislation.

“I voted for Strickland, mostly due to fear of what (John) Kasich would do to this state,” Wells said.

However, turnout was not just low among young people on Tuesday. In Ohio, less than 48 percent of all registered voters cast ballots, the worst participation in a statewide election since 2002.

WSU student Michael Phipps voted early for Kasich, then had second thoughts. “I would have gone for Strickland if I had waited until Tuesday,” he said.

At the University of Dayton, Heidi Goettemoeller, 20, said she didn’t vote because “I didn’t have time.”

The two main candidates for Ohio governor will have likely spent more than $30 million combined on this year’s campaign. The bulk of the money went toward television advertising, yet some young people said they were not aware an election was occurring.

Sinclair Community College student Matthew Hill, 21, voted for Obama in 2008, but said, “What election?” when asked if he voted on Nov. 2.

The lack of young voters may have been crucial to deciding the outcome of Tuesday’s governor’s race. Historically, young voters back Democrats. More than 65 percent of voters 18-29 supported Obama in his 2008 campaign against Republican U.S. Sen. John McCain.

Since Kasich defeated Strickland 49-47 percent, young voters could likely have made the race tighter.

“I don’t think it was lack of effort on the part of the Democratic campaign, but the core constituencies they were trying to mobilize may have been especially difficult to get out to vote this year,’ said John C. Green, an Ohio politics expert at the University of Akron.

President Obama made two visits to Ohio in the weeks before the election and both of those visits were to college campuses — Cleveland State University and Ohio State University.

Sinclair student Jonathan Nies, 18, didn’t exercise his right to be a first-time voter because he didn’t see the point.

“They’re all the same,” he said. “It’s just the way politicians are. They say they’ll do something and then they don’t.”

Sinclair student Alex Wines, 23, voted “because I felt very strongly about who I wanted to vote for and what I wanted to see happen in Ohio. Young people probably voted less in the midterm election because they feel that it’s not as big of a deal as a presidential election.”

The Columbus Dispatch contributed to this report.

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