Young New Hampshire Voters Buck National Trend - And Vote
Submitted on February 1, 2000 - 1:00am.
Evan Thies - Spring 2000
MANCHESTER, N.H. _ Like many of his classmates, Justin Normandin on Tuesday did something unusual for an 18-year-old: He voted. "Some people talk about change," said Normandin. "I'm actually doing it."
Normandin, a senior at Manchester High School West, is one of 15 students in his class who in a survey last month said they would vote in New Hampshire's primary. And bucking a national trend of low-turnout among the young, all 15 carried through on their promise. They registered and cast their ballots.
In contrast, few young voters nationally seem caught up in Campaign 2000, according to a November survey by the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University. The poll asked young people 30 years old and younger how much attention they were paying to the presidential election. About half of respondents said they were paying no attention at all. Another 40 percent were paying "only a little" or "just some" attention.
Normandin, a senior at Manchester High School West, is one of 15 students in his class who in a survey last month said they would vote in New Hampshire's primary. And bucking a national trend of low-turnout among the young, all 15 carried through on their promise. They registered and cast their ballots.
In contrast, few young voters nationally seem caught up in Campaign 2000, according to a November survey by the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University. The poll asked young people 30 years old and younger how much attention they were paying to the presidential election. About half of respondents said they were paying no attention at all. Another 40 percent were paying "only a little" or "just some" attention.
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