Can Celebrities Really Get Young People To Vote?

We’ve always been more than a little skeptical about campaigns using celebrities to encourage the MTV generation to vote. Mostly because teenagers can’t vote and we’re not we want 20+ year olds who are swayed by celebrity endorsements deciding our nation’s leader anyway. And a recent study by Washington State University says that celebrities actually do inspire young people to get out and vote, as well as to become involved in politics in general:

The study, based on a survey of 305 students at the university, contrasted with a number of other polls which indicated celebrity endorsements of presidential candidates were unlikely to sway votes,

It said: “Celebrity endorsed campaigns successfully lowered complacency and helped young people believe in their own impact on the political system. Young people got involved at higher levels and became increasingly aware of societal issues.”

The study, led by Erica Austin, researched the influence of “get out the vote” campaigns in 2004 involving Knowles, Aguilera, Combs and other celebrities. It quoted a Pace University poll in 2004 which showed 44 percent of newly registered voters were ages 18 to 25.

The study found that “the cause of this dramatic increase in voter participation of young people in 2004 can largely be attributed to celebrity get-out-the-vote promotions.”

Is that really what those 305 surveyed students said, though - that the reason they went out and got involved with politics is because Christina Aguilera showed them the way? It’s not because, for the past 8 years, we’ve been bombarded with information on how we’ve leaving under the worst American President since, like, Polk (That asshole.)?

So… Do celebrities have an impact on how or if you vote? And, if so, why? Does it depend on the celebrity? The message? The slogan? Let us know.

Celebrities can coax youth to vote, study shows [Yahoo]