Youth vote in the United States
The youth vote in the United States is a political term used to describe 18- to 24-year-olds and their voting habits. Many policy areas specifically affect the youth of the United States, such as education issues and the juvenile justice system. The general trend in voter turnout for American elections has been decreasing for all age groups, but "young people's participation has taken the biggest nosedive". This low youth turnout is part of the generational trend of voting activity. Young people have the lowest turnout, though as the individual ages, turnout increases to a peak at the age of 50 and then falls again. 
Ever since 18-year-olds were given the right to vote in 1972, youth have been under represented at the polls. In 1976, one of the first elections in which 18-year-olds were able to vote, 18-24 year-olds made up 18 percent of all eligible voters in America, but only 13 percent actually voted - an under-representation of one-third. In the next election in 1978, youth were under-represented by 50 percent. "Seven out of ten young people…did not vote in the 1996 presidential election… 20 percent below the general turnout". In 1998, out of the 13 percent of eligible youth voters in America, only five percent voted. During the competitive presidential race of 2000, 36 percent of youth turned out to vote and in 2004, the "banner year in the history of youth voting," 47 percent of the American youth voted. Recently, in the 2008 U.S. Presidential election, the number of youth voters tripled and even quadrupled in some states compared to the 2004 elections.
Gros-de-Vaud District
The age distribution, , in Gros-de-Vaud is; 4,635 children or 12.5% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 4,907 teenagers or 13.2% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 4,193 people or 11.3% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 5,531 people or 14.9% are between 30 and 39, 6,224 people or 16.8% are between 40 and 49, and 4,699 people or 12.7% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 3,758 people or 10.1% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 1,991 people or 5.4% are between 70 and 79,there are 978 people or 2.6% who are 80 and 89, and there are 168 people or 0.5% who are 90 and older.In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 27.84% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP (18.3%), the FDP (14.87%) and the Green Party (13.33%). In the federal election, a total of 10,796 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 46.6%.