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Campaigns find it difficult to rock votes loose from apathetic youth.

Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL)

| October 19, 2004 | COPYRIGHT 2004 Chicago Tribune. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)Copyright

Oct. 19--MADISON, Wis.--Nothing so far seems to have persuaded Jordan Reilly to vote on Election Day.

Not the MTV spots or the Rock the Vote concerts or Comedy Central. Not the daily voter registration drives outside the University of Wisconsin library. Not the pressure from his peers. Not the hip-hop artists who have visited. Not the issues of war, a military draft and the economy. And certainly not George Bush or John Kerry.

As thousands of students on one of the most politically active campuses in the country gathered in clusters one night recently to watch a presidential debate, Reilly didn't bother. He pulled his clothes from a dryer at a downtown laundromat and walked out the front door past a throng of University of Wisconsin students whose eyes were glued to a bank of televisions.

"I've got stuff to do," said the 21-year-old senior majoring in history. "Your ability to influence the [election] outcome is insignificant. Who knows? Maybe I'll change my mind on Election Day."

Reilly represents one of this campaign year's conundrums: Will young people, who have shunned elections in increasing numbers since 1972, vote en masse this November? And if so, will first-time "Virgin Voters" -- as the non-partisan New Voters Project calls them -- change the tide of the election?

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