Democratic donors, frustrated with Howard Dean and the DNC claiming they are ignoring the youth, are giving grants to organizations that pledge to help the party get more of the 18-24 youth out voting for Democrats.
"The party's plans to reach out to young people are incredibly insufficient," said Deborah Rappaport of Redwood, Calif., one of the donors. "If we don't pay attention to them now, we will lose them."
They cite the results of the 2004 presidential election in which those 18-29 were the only age group to back Democratic nominee John Kerry. The Massachusetts senator won that group 54 percent to 45 percent, according to exit polls.
About 47 percent of Americans 18-24 voted in 2004, up from 36 percent in 2000, according to the Census Bureau. No other age group increased its turnout by more than 5 percentage points. Even with the increase, the youngest voters still had the lowest turnout rate. Nearly three of every four people aged 55-74 voted in 2004.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060609/ap_on_el_ge/democrats_young_voters
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