Hiram College professor Jason Johnson was interviewed by National Public Radio’s Ari Shapiro for a story on Morning Edition about young voters and the 2012 election. Johnson also discussed the findings of the recent “Listening to Young Voters” poll released by the Garfield Institute of Public Leadership.
SHARPIRO: The answer is, they’re not supporting the president as much as they used to. Many polls show that Mr. Obama has about 10 percent less support among young voters than he did last time, and over the last six months his numbers have been dropping in this group, says Jason Johnson, a political scientist at Hiram College in Ohio.
JASON JOHNSON: The bad news for Mitt Romney is these numbers haven’t necessarily improved his standing amongst young voters. It’s just led to more young voters saying that they’re undecided and they aren’t sure, which may mean they’re persuadable, or it might mean they’re just holding out and eventually they’re going to go back to Obama in November.
SHARPIRO: Or they could just stay home altogether. So to keep them engaged and win over the persuadables, both sides are revving up their efforts. It’s not just about winning this round. People’s voting patterns take shape early in life, and almost 17 million people have become old enough to vote since 2008.
Click here to listen to the entire story on Morning Edition: Romney Wants Young Voters To Give Up On Obama.
