Va. sees surge in young voters

Associated Press

Published: July 21, 2008

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Virginia is seeing a surge in voter registration among 18- to 25-year-olds.

The Virginia State Board of Elections says the number of 18- to 25-year-old voters has increased by 10 percent in the past year. As of last week, there were 569,817 registered voters in that age group.

During the same period, the total number of registered voters increased by 5 percent to 4.7 million.

Population growth could be factor. U.S. Census Bureau figures show that the number of 18- to 24-year-olds is growing faster than Virginia’s overall population.

Analysts and campaign officials say the presidential race also is a big draw this year.