SIOUX FALLS - South Dakota ranked third in the nation in terms
of voter turnout among 18- to 29-year-olds in the 2006 election,
according to a new report.
South Dakota's turnout was 39 percent. Minnesota led with 43
percent, followed by 40 percent in Wisconsin.
Nationally, the voter turnout in that age group rose 3
percentage points between 2002 and 2006, from 22 percent to 25
percent, according to the report from the Center for Information
and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement - or CIRCLE.
CIRCLE was founded in 2001 with a grant from the Pew
Charitable trusts and also is funded by the Carnegie Corp. of New
York. It is based at the University of Maryland.
"It is likely that differences in electoral participation
among young people across states was driven by high-profile
gubernatorial and congressional races and statewide initiatives on
the ballot in midterm years," the report said.
In November 2006, South Dakota voters rejected a ballot
measure that sought a near total ban on abortions.
The CIRCLE report says the voter turnout rate for South
Dakotans age 30 and older in 2006 was 71 percent.
In 1994, the 18-29 year-old rate was 37 percent in South
Dakota, which was 2 percentage points less than the 2006 rate, the
report says.
Regionally, the Midwest had the highest youth voter turnout
rate at 31 percent. College graduates and married people also had
relatively high turnout percentages.
The youth voter turnout among American Indians declined 14
percentage points nationwide from 1994, the CIRCLE study
indicated.
The 2006 midterm elections followed the 2004 presidential
election, which had the highest level of youth voter turnout in
more than a decade: 49 percent.
