Thursday, April 7, 2011

Young Voters Help Run Campaigns, But Not Decide Results

The mayor’s election of May 2011 will not be decided by a youth vote. Political activists under 30 years old manage several campaigns and form a significant portion of the staff and volunteers. But, they represent barely 5 percent, or 5,000 to 7,000 votes, of the electorate (depending on final total turnout) and they won’t bloc vote. More than half of this electorate will be older than 50 and a quarter will be above 65 years old.

Auditor Dennis Gallagher will win that vote hands down.

The most interesting new voters who are under 45 years old are in Denver’s redeveloped Lowry, Stapleton, LoDo and Platte Valley, and hot growth areas, such as Cherry Creek North and Highlands neighborhoods.

See Denver Post article: Denver’s city election with all-mail balloting makes it tougher to lure young voters

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