>All opinion polls and anti-war demonstrations aside, no one has mentioned >what effect lowering the voting age to 18 may have influenced Vietnam war >policy in particular, and the political landscape in general. I tend to >believe that most protest demonstrations (then, as well as now) have little >effect on the political establishment unless it accompanies a tangible >voting constituency. I'm no political consultant, but I know how >politicians think. As long as they get their votes, they can ignore >everything else, in spite of what they might say about being "sensitive to >the issues." > >Chris Shugart True enough, but didn't 18 year olds first get to vote in the 1972 election? And how did that turn out?!! Data since then indicates clearly that 18-24 year olds simply do not vote in any substantial numbers - They are, I believe, the lowest voting cohort in the US. John Andrew John Andrew email: J_ANDREW@ACAD.FANDM.EDU Department of History fax 717-399-4518 Franklin and Marshall College Lancaster, PA. 17604-3003 "Fantasy Will Set You Free" - Steppenwolf
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