A new study of voter registration data in the key battleground states of North Carolina and Nevada shows that since 2008 there has been a drastic drop in the levels of young voters - a group that voted overwhelmingly for Barack Obama for president.
The study found that between November 2008 and November 2011, North Carolina saw a net gain of 93,709 overall new registrations. However, youth registrants, those between age 18 and 25, lost a net of 48,500 in North Carolina.
Of that 48,500 net loss, 80.4 percent were among registered Democrats for a net loss of 39,049 young Democratic registrants, the study found. The study found a similar trend in Nevada.
"The state-specific data for young voters from both of these battleground states shows what can only be described as a profound loss of the registration advantage Democrats held during the 2008 election cycle," said Peter Levine, director of Tuft University's Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.
The study may help explain why the Obama campaign has been in North Carolina so early organizing on college campuses, helping rebuild its support among young people.
Luton seeks Owens' seat
Pasquotank County school board member Bill Luton will run in the Democratic primary for departing Rep. Bill Owens' District 1 House seat. Luton posted his first campaign ad on his website on Saturday.
Luton has been a professor at Elizabeth City State University, and last year accepted a position as dean of business and general studies at Allied American University, an online university specializing in educating members of the U.S. military.
His ad stresses education as a core North Carolina value. Owens, a nine-term Democratic member of the House, announced earlier this year he will not seek re-election.
Board of Elections moving
The N.C. Board of Elections is in the process of moving its offices. But it won't be hard to find, because it is just moving across North Harrington Street.
The elections board is leaving its current offices at 505 N. Harrington and moving to 441 N. Harrington. Johnnie McLean, deputy state elections director, said the board decided to move because it wanted to consolidate its offices in one building and because it needed a larger hearing room.
The goal is for the move to be completed before the candidate filing period begins Feb. 13. This will be the fourth location for the elections board in recent decades. It had been in an office building on Hargett Street and on the Fayetteville Street Mall, before it moved to Harrington Street.
