3 Top Things to Know About Young Voters & 2012 Election

Young Americans showed historic 11-point swing away from President

Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON D.C. Generation Opportunity the nations largest social media & grassroots organization reaching out to young Americans ages 18-29 has released data analysis on young voters and the 2012 election. With a fan base of 4 million-plus on Facebook more than 1.1 billion views and 9 million online interactions Generation Opportunity knows what its talking about. Millennials have demonstrated a shift in views on solutions to unemployment and the bad economy ... they favor lower taxes and less government involvement.

President Obama saw the highest defection rate from his margin of support in 2008 of any age group among young Americans 18-29 who swung away from him by a stunning 11 points said Generation Opportunity President Paul T. Conway.

Underneath these numbers young Americans are truly reshaping how they think about issues like unemployment job creation taxes and regulation. Young people increasingly view the economic policies coming out of Washington through the lens of unemployment as they their friends and their family members are experiencing the highest sustained level of unemployment since World War II. The fact that young Americans will represent 38 of the electorate by 2020 makes this all the more relevant Conway said.

Beginning in June of 2011 Generation Opportunity took to the national stage as the largest national grassroots organization focused on young Americans that presented a clear alternative to the mantra of bigger government and increased federal spending gaving voice to millions of dissatisfied young Americans searching for an alternative to high unemployment and a lack of meaningful full-time jobs. The organization utilized an integrated strategy combining online targeted social media targeted field activities and earned media to educate and ultimately mobilize young Americans 18-29 year olds. Generation Opportunity built a variety of targeted Facebook platforms to attract a fan base of over 4 million Millennials garnering over 1.1 billion views and over 9 million online interactions via likes comments and shares of sourced information on issues like youth unemployment and the impacts of increased federal spending and debt.

1. There was a stunning 11-point swing in the young adult vote in the 2012 Presidential Election.

In 2008 then-Senator Barack Obama won 18-29 year olds by 34 points (66-32). This year President Obama won 18-29 year olds by 23 points (60-37). The youth vote swung 11 points away from President Obama more than twice any other age demographic. No other demographic showed movement anywhere near this: 30-44 showed 1 point increase in support for Obama from 2008; 45-64 showed -5 decrease in support for Obama since 2008; and 65 showed -4 decrease in support for Obama since 2008.

Age	2008	2012	Change
18-29	66-32 (D34)	60-37 (D23)	-11
30-44	52-46 (D6)	52-45 (D7)	1
45-64	50-49 (D1)	47-51 (R4)	-5
65	45-53 (R8)	44-56 (R12)	-4

2. President Obama is witnessing a fracturing of what was once considered his unshakable base of support among young voters.

2012 saw the largest drop in support from the 18-29 demographic for any incumbent President who won re-election in history. Underneath these numbers young Americans are fundamentally reshaping how they think about issues like unemployment job creation taxes and regulation. The fact that young Americans will represent 38 of the electorate by 2020 makes this all the more relevant.

3. Contrary to conventional wisdom young adult turnout actually increased from the 2008 level.

The conventional wisdom which was advanced and shared by numerous news outlets and grassroots organizations including the AP Pew and Huffington Post was that young people would:

• A.) Decrease in turnout compared to 2008 levels and
• B.) Vote in just as strong of a margin for President Obama in 2012 as they did 2008.

Yet young adult turnout actually increased (from 18 to 19) and swung 11 points away from President Obama. Generation Opportunity was heavily involved in reshaping both the terrain and the national dialogue with regard to the young adult vote going into the 2012 election. Generation Opportunity field organizers engaged in person over 250000 young adults at over 600 targeted events nationwide. Major events included the League of Latin American Citizens (LULAC) annual convention American Student Government Association leadership conference the National Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and over 500 state county and community events such as Earth Day festivals concerts sporting events farmers markets and various cultural festivals. Their grassroots field team organized young people in:

1. California
2. Florida
3. Maine
4. Massachusetts
5. Missouri
6. Nevada
7. New Hampshire
8. New Jersey
9. New Mexico
10. North Carolina
11. Ohio and
12. Virginia among others.

The organization also utilized a variety of online and grassroots tools and tactics to attract tens of thousands of young Americans to the electoral process register new voters across the country and train thousands of activists to make their voices heard in advance of the 2012 election through a variety of ways including letters to the editor town halls and radio programs. For 2013 and 2014 Generation Opportunity will be further expanding its reach and following among young adults across the nation through social media and grassroots activity. The organization will be executing an even more aggressive effort to fully engage young Americans at both the state and national level. Statement from Generation Opportunity President Paul T. Conway President Obama saw the highest defection rate from his margin of support in 2008 of any age group among young Americans 18-29 who swung away from him by a stunning 11 points. Underneath these numbers young Americans are truly reshaping how they think about issues like unemployment job creation taxes and regulation. Young people increasingly view the economic policies coming out of Washington through the lens of unemployment as they their friends and their family members are experiencing the highest sustained level of unemployment since World War II. The fact that young Americans will represent 38 of the electorate by 2020 makes this all the more relevant. In the days ahead it will be important for President Obama to remember that young Americans want meaningful full-time jobs in their career paths of choice and are increasingly looking for less government involvement in their daily lives. They have given the President another opportunity to fulfill his promises to match his actions to his rhetoric and to demonstrate an ability to achieve results in these areas. Over the next days and years young Americans will watch carefully to see if the President honors his commitments and if he fails to do so they will continue to work with organizations like Generation Opportunity to hold him and his allies in Congress accountable. For future campaigns the results of the 2012 presidential election further demonstrate yet again that to succeed in garnering the support of young Americans they must engage them fully in social media and must embrace the technologies that young Americans utilize to inform their opinions. More importantly campaigns need to demonstrate that they respect the intelligence and influence of young Americans and provide them the content necessary for individuals to reach their own conclusions. Generation Opportunity is the largest non-profit non-partisan 501 (c)(4) organization in the United States engaging and mobilizing young Americans from young adults (ages 18-29) to early career professionals college students young mothers and fathers construction workers current service men and women veterans entrepreneurs and all Americans who find themselves dissatisfied with the status quo and willing to create a better tomorrow. Since its launch in June of 2011 Generation Opportunity has operated on a combined strategy of advanced social media tactics and field tactics to reach Americans 18-29. For our Spanish-language page Generacin Oportunidad click here.