Hurray For Our Young Voters!

An article in today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel highlighted some Wisconsin and US voting statistics from this year's mid-term elections - with an emphasis on voters in the 18-29 age group. Here are some of the more interesting findings:

• 17% of those who voted in Wisconsin on Nov. 7th were age 18-29; the highest in the nation (12-13% was the national average).

• Democratic Governor Jim Doyle carried 18-29 age voters 57% to 40%.

• Nationally, the 18-29 age group voted for Democrats in US House races by a whopping 60% to 38% for Republicans.

Statistics aside, isn't it ironic that one of the "hot-button" issues that Wisconsin's Republican-controlled legislature put on the ballot to get their conservative base to the polls - the gay marriage amendment - actually backfired in the college districts. Students turned out in large numbers to overwhelmingly reject this hostile, discriminatory legislation - and while in the voting booth, chose Democratic candidates to represent them. The Republicans lost every seat in these Wisconsin college districts.

Perhaps, ignoring students on this issue was a trade-off that the conservatives were willing to make to get the amendment passed by the rest of the state's electorate. However, I choose to revel in the fact the a number of Democrats will be in office - thanks to the right's insistence on "gay-bashing".