Youth Candidates for 2010 PDF | Print | E-mail
Written by Catherine Mullins
Wednesday, 23 December 2009 12:14
When Jared Christiansen began campaigning for governor of Wisconsin, more than a few heads turned. The baby-faced 18-year old seems a more likely candidate for student body governor than a state one. With men and women twice their age running against them, what is spurring these younger people like Christiansen to take matters into their own hands? What has seized the nation and suddenly made politics so "cool," when just a few years ago any type of civic engagement was deemed laughable by the same generation?

“Spurred into action by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the war in Iraq, youths 18 to 24 years of age have dramatically accelerated their participation in politics, both at the ballot box and on college campuses. After a steady decline in youth voting since the close of the Vietnam War, young voter participation increased from 36 percent in 2000 to 47 percent in 2004, representing a huge jumpâ€