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The Statehouse News Bureau provides educational, comprehensive coverage of legislation, elections, issues and other activities surrounding the Statehouse to Ohio's public radio and television stations.

Younger Ohioans Urged To Register And Vote, But Stats Show Historically, They Don't

A chart showing what percentage of the population of Ohio 18-24 year olds voted in statewide elections since 2000.
A chart showing what percentage of the population of Ohio 18-24 year olds voted in statewide elections since 2000.

The latest school shooting in Texas has activists are calling on younger people to register to vote and cast ballots in the upcoming midterm elections. But historical stats show those calls may go ignored in Ohio. 

When more 18-24 year olds vote, Democrats are more likely to win. But when more older voters turn out, Republicans do.

Elections analyst Mike Dawson said stats from the Secretary of State’s office compared to US Census figures show tough races for Democrats in non-presidential years since 2000. “And in those nine elections, a Democrat here in Ohio has won one time – that was in 2006, and that’s when the 18-24 year old vote was the highest in a midterm election," said Dawson.

Just under 28 percent of all voters in that age group cast ballots in 2006. Nearly twice as many 18 to 24-year-olds voted in 2008 – when Barack Obama took Ohio – but less than 40 percent of those Ohioans voted in 2016, when Donald Trump won the state.

Copyright 2018 The Statehouse News Bureau. To see more, visit The Statehouse News Bureau.

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