It didn’t work. The videos, the outreach, the begging. Young voters (18-29), who have voted in smaller numbers in every election since the 26th amendment gave them the right to participate, blew off the election again.
One thing that does seem very clear tonight — at least if what I’m hearing from the exits is true — is that the much-ballyhooed youth vote simply did not show up. Simple as that.
That is a remarkable turnabout from the expectations that had been growing over the last week. And Democrats weren’t the only ones who bought into the idea. Public pollsters and even Republicans in the final days of the campaign were coming to believe it too. And that shaped expectations greatly.
If an unpopular war, a poor job market, higher college tuition, and a deteriorating environment — all issues which young voters claimed to be interested in — won’t bring them to the polls, what will?