A New Tactic: New Voters "Decline to state" Party Affiliation
Wednesday, October 13, 2004 at 03:36PM
TheSpook
Tens of thousands of newly registered New Mexico voters this year: More
than half are young, and many declined to name a party affiliation,
choosing to remain independent. Because of their numbers, these voters
could also affect the close race between President Bush and Democrat
John Kerry. More than half, or 56 percent of newly registered voters
this year are younger than 35, according to an analysis of voter data
performed by Research and Polling Inc. of Albuquerque. More than a
third are younger than 25. Just 6 percent are senior citizens,
Research and Polling president Brian Sanderoff said.And of those under
25, more than a third are declining to name a party affiliation."What
it means is that there are a lot of young independent-minded people
that have registered this year and both campaigns should be paying
attention to them," Sanderoff said. Democrats have and continue to hold
the registration edge in New Mexico. The increase in independent voters
appears to be at the expense of both Republicans and Democrats. [more ]
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