CNN.com: The Youth Vote and the Internet

by: Julie Hartz
jh101105@ohio.edu

Record-breaking Registration
In an election that has already broken records for voter registration and involvement, many people are looking to the youth of our country to actively participate and make a difference. Let's be honest...we youth have not had the best turnout at the polls in the past. But with the economy in a crisis and young voters being more active than ever, the youth vote might actually have a major effect on the outcome of this election.

CNN took a trip to a nearby university-Ohio State-and did a special story on how the economy could have a huge effect on the youth and who they vote for. You can watch the video below:



CNN.com details how the failing economy will most likely have a very huge effect on the youth and who they vote for. With gas prices still up from last year, and loans becoming harder to get, students are facing difficult times.

In another CNN video,CNN's Ralitsa Vassileva interviews the co-founder of Scoop08.com, a website for young journalists to report on the election and to give information to young voters. The website boasts student-written stories and numerous blogs about the election. And it's all from a student's perspective, so what else would be easier to relate to?



With the popularity of the Internet on the rise, young voters can keep election blogs (much like we are) and read about the latest election news with the swiftest click of a button. And with all of this availability, why wouldn't the youth get involved? We are finally a generation who is realizing the difference we can make, and the media have clearly picked up on that.

Records are already being broken in Athens for voter registration, and the trend seems to be country-wide. The real difference will be if those voters actually leave their homes and make it to the polls for election day come November 4th.