Will Marijuana Bring Out the Youth Vote? – Denver Post

Colorado will have a recreation marijuana initiative on the ballot and it could help Barack Obama with the youth vote, or they might vote for Libertarian Gary Johnson, the former governor of New Mexico, who is a legalization advocate.

“‘Obama on his best day is at 45 or 47 percent out here,’ says longtime Colorado pollster Floyd Ciruli.  He thinks the marijuana initiative, support for which has ranged from 46 to 61 percent in polls (depending on how the question is asked), may well do better than the president in November and that Democrats ‘can’t take that vote for granted.’” (Salon.com, 7-19-12)

Obama is winning voters aged 18 to 29 years old by 23 percentage points according to Gallup, but they are 20 points less likely to vote than the average turnout of all registered voters.

Young voters favor the legalization by large majorities.  Will it drive turnout?  At the margins, yes.  Will those voters be attracted to vote for Johnson rather than Obama?  Not likely.

“But Denver political consultant Floyd Ciruli said neither Romney’s nor Obama’s campaigns should be worried.

‘By and large, the Libertarian Party brings almost nothing to the table other than ballot access,’ Ciruli said. ‘The individual would have to be a celebrity or be independently wealthy or have an issue that is just raging with the people.’” (Denver Post, 6-19-12)

See:
Denver Post:  Presidential hopeful Gary Johnson, Libertarian from New Mexico, attempts to woo voters
Gallup:  Young U.S. voters’ turnout intentions lagging
Salon.com:  Obama’s pot problem