Xbox Live Program Distributes 55,000 U.S. Voter Registration Forms

A collaborative effort between Microsoft and youth-oriented voting awareness group Rock the Vote has seen 55,000 United States voter registration forms downloaded through Xbox Live. The bipartisan effort, which is largely structured around Xbox Live and Xbox.com, was announced last month. It's intended to provide information and media about United States presidential candidates Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain, and encourage eligible American voters to register in time for the upcoming November election. Additionally, nearly 100,000 votes were cast in an opinion poll comparing the Democratic and Republican tickets. In data collected from September 11 to September 14, Sen. Obama and running mate Sen. Joe Biden were found to be leading Sen. McCain and running mate Gov. Sarah Palin -- with 43 percent to the Republicans' 31 percent. The results contrast with data taken by polling firm Gallup, which showed Sen. McCain at a two- to three-point lead over Sen. Obama for that same time period. Sen. Obama has since regained his lead in Gallup's daily tracking poll, today holding a four-point lead. The discrepancy between the Xbox Live and Gallup results probably represents Live's higher concentration of young voters, who have trended towards Sen. Obama. Despite this election cycle's surge in youth enthusiasm relative to past years, common political wisdom holds that young voters often end up underrepresented on election day -- making the tens of thousands of likely new registrants a notable achievement.