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Characteristics of New Voters: 1972

Report Number P20-230

There will be 25 million young people under the age of 25 who will be old enough to vote for President for the first time in the November 1972 Presidential election. 1 These young adults will comprise 18 percent of the total resident population of voting age. About 11 million of these new age-eligible voters will be 18 to 20 years old and about 14 million will be 21 to 24 years old. The exceptionally large number of new voters is the result of the Voting Rights Act Amendment of 1970 which lowered the voting age in National elections to 18 in all States after January 1, 1971. California and New York are expected to have the greatest number of potential new voters in 1972–more than 2 million each. Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, and Michigan will each have more than 1 million potential new voters.

 

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Page Last Revised - October 8, 2021
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