Young adults in California flexed their muscle in the voting booth in 2012, registering in record numbers and increasingly choosing “no party preference” to the two major political parties, a new study shows. The study by the UC Davis Center for Regional Change and the California Civic Engagement Project also showed that Democrats reaped big numbers this year among voters 18 to 24 with the start of online voter registration – a trend that could shape future elections and campaigns.
Nearly two-thirds of the 244,000 young voters who registered to vote in California this year signed up online in the month before the November election, the study showed. The 155,000 of 18- to 24-year-olds who registered online chose the Democratic over Republican party by a 2-1 ratio, it said.
The UC Davis study looked closely at California’s youngest voters, who now make up 11 percent of registered voters in the state and whose ranks jumped 14 percent as a result of online voter registration that began in October. Its findings suggest profound implications in political campaigns and get-out-the-vote efforts for both major parties in the state, researchers said.
Full Article: More young voters register unaffiliated – SFGate.