Although young people have historically had low voter turnout, studies conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2000 suggest that politicians should not take the youth vote for granted. The studies have shown that people establish their voting behavior early in life.

“People who start voting between the ages of 18-24 are more likely to consistently participate in the election process for the rest of their lives,” said U.S. Rep. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported that most registered voters did cast ballots in the 2000 election, making the younger demographic stand out. According to the bureau’s report, “the younger demographic (ages 18 to 24) made up 36 percent of voters for the 2000 presidential election.”

Much of the younger demographic are first-time voters. Many want to be informed about the upcoming election and the candidates’ stance on issues concerning them, particularly quality of education and tuition costs. Some students say they obtain information on the candidates through the Internet and presidential debates. Others said they turn to television shows.

“Watching the debates helped give (me) a good idea on where each candidate stands,” said Katie Vivoda, freshman in education. She said her speech communications class conducted a Web site project researching different candidates that also kept her informed.

The New Voters Project, www.newvoters.org, is a Web project devoted to increasing the number of young voters. According to their Web site, the project is a “nonpartisan effort to register hundreds of thousands of young people and get them to the polls on Election Day.” The site provides information on the candidates as well as information on how to get involved with the project.

The cable television channel MTV also provides information on the upcoming election. MTV’s campaign, “Choose or Lose: 20 Million Loud,” aims to inform the younger generation on President George W. Bush’s and Sen. John Kerry’s campaigns.

According to MTV.com, the Choose or Lose mission is to be a “national campaign of organizations mobilizing more than 20 million young adults age 18 to 30 to vote and be a deciding factor in the 2004 presidential election.”

The channel airs different specials concerning both candidates’ campaigns. They aired their “Rock the Vote Awards” right after the early February kick-off of the 2004 campaign. MTV also uses such celebrities as rap mogul P. Diddy, comedian Jamie Foxx and rapper Snoop Dogg to appeal to young eligible voters and to encourage them to vote by having them appear in TV segments that interrupt popular MTV shows.

This past summer, MTV’s Rock the Vote bus tour visited more than 50 cities across the country at surrounding malls and college campuses to encourage new voters to register to vote. The tour offered concerts by Maroon 5, Alanis Morissette, the Donnas and Q-Tip.

Shweta Malladi, freshman in LAS, said she has her own views and that it is important for voters to remain informed, be it through local campaigns or larger efforts from organizations such as MTV.

“I feel informed about the upcoming election mainly because this is the first election I’m allowed to vote in,” she said. “I try to inform myself as much as I can, especially because I’m told this is the most important election in a long time.”