By Aman Batheja

While pundits debate the value of change vs. experience, "youth" may be the real buzz word of this election.

Voters under 30 broke records in Iowa and New Hampshire, coming to the polls in droves to pick the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees. In Iowa, support from young voters is credited with helping Illinois Sen. Barack Obama win the Democratic caucus last week.

"Suddenly it seems it's cool to count again," said Marc Morgenstern, head of Declare Yourself, a group devoted to increasing youth voter turnout.

Whether young Texans will join this new wave of civic duty is unclear. History suggests they won't but some local activists say Texas twenty-somethings could be on the verge of a surge.

"There are a lot of things going on now that really have to do with our future," said Angela Cole, president of the Tarrant County Young Republicans. "We see the economy tanking. We see the border being an issue. We see our friends going around the world and dying.

"It's not just about baby boomers anymore."

Texas immune to trend

In recent years, nonpartisan groups like Rock The Vote and Declare Yourself have launched campaigns to encourage more young people to vote. They started seeing results in 2004, when youth voting rates began to rise.

Texas has been immune to the trend. The rate of 18-24 year-olds that voted in 2004 in Texas was 39 percent, tied for second to worst showing with Tennessee, according to University of Maryland's Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement. The national average was 47 percent.

Jessica Anaker, campaign coordinator for the Tarrant County Young Democrats, said there's a misconception that young people don't vote because they're apathetic.

"They don't know how to get involved and they don't understand how it affects them," she said.

Over the years, various campaigns have predicted victory by promising to attract those elusive first-time young voters. Democrat Howard Dean saw his star quickly burn out in 2004 when not enough young Iowans backed his bid for president.

In 2006, humorist Kinky Friedman's failed run for Texas governor was based on the hope of attracting young, first-time voters. They crowded his campaign events but failed to show up at the polls.

'Genuine' is a key asset

Many local young people say it's an aspect of a candidate's character that has caused them to take an interest in this year's presidential race.

"Younger people today are more sensitive to the disingenuousness of politicians," said Noah Figgs, 24, of Fort Worth, who is supporting Republican Rep. Ron Paul of Surfside. "When they see someone who's more genuine, they realize someone is trying to make a difference."

Until recently, Ben Decker, 28, of Fort Worth paid little attention to politics. Last year, he volunteered to be Mike Huckabee's Tarrant County campaign chair.

"He's genuine. He doesn't read from a script," Decker said.

Anaker said most local young Democrats appear to be supporting Obama or former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards.

"He really resonates with the younger generation," said Greg Snow, 23, of Fort Worth, explaining his support for Obama.

Such broad sentiments aren't surprising to Morgenstern of Declare Yourself.

"Those kind of character issues seem to be much more important to young people than a particular stance on one issue or another," he said. Young voters say the Internet is playing a large role in how they learn about the candidates.

Web developer Tyler Fields, 23, of Dallas, said users of social networking sites like Facebook are overwhelmed by political news. His startup company, Momo, plans on launching a Web application called MomoPolitics. The program will help people with Facebook accounts filter political information important to them.

Online: www.declareyourself.com

www.rockthevote.com

Tarrant County Young Republicans, www.tcyr.org

Tarrant County Young Democrats, www.tarrantyoungdemocrats.org

Youth voter turnout in Texas

Year Voter turnout in Texas among 18-24 year olds / Youth voter turnout nationally

2004   39%  /  47%
2006   17%  /  25%

Source: www.civicyouth.org