Nearly one quarter of eligible American voters are between ages 18 and 30. Presidential candidates should carefully consider this young demographic as they decide how to allocate their time and resources in the months ahead. The Brookings Institution and the Harvard Institute of Politics recently released the findings of the Fall 2007 Youth Survey on Politics and Public Service at an Opportunity 08 panel discussion on the importance and power of young voters. Participants included Opportunity 08 Director Michael O’Hanlon; Kenneth M. Duberstein, who serves in an advisory capacity to both Opportunity 08 and the IOP; James A. Leach, a former member of Congress and IOP director; and John Della Volpe of IOP, plus two Harvard University students.
"The younger generation is voting. Watch out politicians because you got to spend even more time to pay attention to this group of voters than have before. And that’s a striking aspect of the survey that I was, frankly surprised to read and learn from reading through this … that the percentage of the younger demographic of voters voting in today’s elections has really increased."
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James A. Leach, Director, Institute of Politics
Kenneth M. Duberstein, Chairman and CEO, Duberstein Group
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