The last vote was counted in the 2004 presidential election and olddebates began anew about the causes of low turnout of those betweenthe ages of 18 and 24. Despite an unprecedented amount of time andeffort spent on turning out the youth vote, the data suggest thatonly about half of the eligible voters between the ages of 18 and 24cast a vote for president. The good news is that, indeed, thisyear's figures reverse a downward trend in voter turnout amongst theyouth; the bad news is that every age bracket increased in votingand youth voting still lagged behind other age groups by significantmargins. Scholars have once again cited evidence of political apathyand alienation among young people; they have referred to studiesthat reveal widespread ignorance of American politics and history inour nation's high schools and colleges. Dire predictions willcontinue about the bleak future of American democracy due to theostensible lack of knowledge and interest in the American politicalsystem among our newest voters. Despite studies showing increases involunteerism, service, and civic engagement, the low voter turnoutwill dominate the debate about civic education.The authors would like to thank David A. Caputo,president of Pace University, for funding PC2004.