TEEN POWER POLITICS.

THE YOUTH VOTE MADE A DIFFERENCE IN MINNESOTA LAST YEAR. WILL IT MATTER IN THE 2000 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION? EVERYONE BORN BY NOVEMBER 8, 1982, WILL BE ELIGIBLE TO VOTE FOR PRESIDENT IN 2000.

Something really weird happened in Minnesota last year.

No one is saying it's a trend, at least not yet, but it could influence the next Presidential election and change the role of young people in politics in the 21st century.

First, a former professional wrestler called Jesse "The Body" Ventura was elected governor. Ventura, a motorcycle-riding, cigar-chomping, former talk-radio host, ran as an independent, stressing his image as a no-holds-barred political rebel. Second (and this is the really weird part), he won at least partly because of a strong showing among young voters, who are often too turned off to vote at all.

"Jesse Ventura attracted more than 50 percent of the youth vote," says Seth Maitlins, president of Rock the Vote, a Culver City, California, organization that encourages 18-to-24-year-olds to get involved in politics. In a three-way race, 50 percent is considered a landslide.

Whatever you may think of Ventura, he struck many young voters as a "compelling alternative," says Maitlins. "Young people felt he was more likely to best represent their interests."

The reason that's important now is that the 2000 Presidential election is expected to be extremely close. If young people vote in large numbers next year, they could sway the election. And who knows what would happen then?

WHAT POLITICIANS THINK

At the moment, however, no one is terribly worried about a political takeover by the nation's youth. That's because politicians know--or think they know--that young people don't vote.

The evidence backs them up.

In 1971, 18-year-olds won the right to vote with the passage of the 26th Amendment to the Constitution. Since then, young people have consistently ranked as the lowest-voting age group.

In the 1996 Presidential election, when President Clinton was re-elected, only 30 percent of 18- and 19-year-olds bothered to vote. That means 5.1 million 18- and 19-year-olds sat it out.

President Clinton won the popular vote by only 8.2 million--not many more votes than there are eligible teen voters. In one of the closest Presidential elections ever, Democrat John E Kennedy defeated Republican Richard M. Nixon in 1960 by a margin of only 119,450 votes.

Young voters can make an even greater impact in smaller, state or local races. The 3 million potential voters aged 18 to 24 in California, for example, could swing many elections. A good illustration was the 1996 race in which California Democrat Loretta Sanchez squeaked by Republican incumbent Bob Dornan to win a seat in Congress by just 984 votes.

THE APATHY FACTOR

Why don't more young people vote? Curtis Gans, director of the Committee for the Study of the American Electorate in Washington, D.C., cites several reasons: First, young people don't have as much education as adults--so they don't always understand how the system works. Second, they don't identify with any major party. But mainly, he says, they just don't care.

It's a vicious circle. Most young people think they lack the power to influence politics. So they don't vote. That means politicians ignore them and their concerns. Then young people grow even more disillusioned, and more of them don't vote.

Besides feeling powerless, young people simply have other things on their minds. "Teenagers don't dwell on the world of politics," says Ross Baker, a political scientist at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. "They're famously distracted by other things--academics, sports, getting into college."

ELDERLY PEOPLE GET IT

One of the biggest campaign issues in the next election is how to protect Social Security, a government benefit program mostly for retired workers. Why is Social Security so important? First, of course, because it helps people. But it doesn't hurt that in 1996, when only 30 percent of eligible teenagers voted, 70 percent of senior citizens aged 65 to 74 cast ballots.

The 1998 Minnesota governor's race raises a provocative question: What if?

"If you suddenly had young people show up at the polls, the entire political process would suddenly have a massive shift," says Richard Kimball, president of Project Vote Smart in Boston, an organization that tracks lawmakers' voting records. "Suddenly you'd find politicians touring high schools."

IF TEENAGERS VOTED ...

Politicians would be listening to teenagers, and campaigning on issues they care about. "Politicians clearly pay attention to voter trends," says Sanjeev Bery of the National Student Campaign for Voter Registration in Washington, D.C. "If it's apparent to them that students and younger Americans are voting in higher numbers, politicians will turn toward those voters and their concerns."

Their top concerns, according to a 1998 poll of young voters by the Campaign for Voter Registration, are education and student aid. Other key issues of interest to young voters are taxes, abortion, and the environment.

AWESOME OPPORTUNITY

Statistically, young people have good reason to vote next year. The 2000 Presidential election is likely to be a close one because, historically, elections that follow a two-term Presidency usually are. With the turnout of eligible voters lower than ever--about 50 percent for national elections--a single vote will carry more weight than ever.

"No one man holds all the political power, not even the President," says Rachel Grays, 17, of Denver, Colorado. "I'm going to vote because I think it's the voters who have all the power."

So was last year's Minnesota election a fluke? Or do teenagers have more political power than they--and the politicians--realize? Teenagers like Rachel will determine the answer.

ON FURTHER THOUGHT

* If you are 18, are you registered to vote? Will you vote when you're 18?

* What would a politician have to say or do to persuade you to vote for him or her?

* How did the impeachment episode affect your opinion of politics?

WANT TO VOTE?

HERE'S HOW

Everyone born by November 8, 1982, will be eligible to vote for President in 2000. But before you can vote, you need to register.

Registration is easy, thanks to the 1993 National Voter Registration Act, also known as the "motor voter" law. The law allows registration in most states by mail, at agencies, and at drivers' licensing offices.

HERE ARE SOME TIPS:

1 First, figure out which party you want to register with. Most states require that you register with a party if you want to vote in the primary elections, Parties hold primary elections earlier in the year to determine their candidates for the general election.

You can register with any party--Republican, Democratic, or others--or as an independent. Consider which party most represents your political beliefs, but also which parties have real primary contests. If one party dominates your state, you may have more of a voice if you register in that party. (If you register as an independent, you won't get to vote in a primary.)

Remember, no matter which party you register with, you can vote for whomever you choose in November.

2 Register. In most states, you can pick up a registration form at many public offices--schools (try your principal's office), libraries, welfare offices, drivers' license bureaus, or the county courthouse. If you need help, call your local election office or the local League of Women Voters (both should be in the phone book).

3 Decide whom to vote for. Read the newspaper, think about the issues, and figure out which candidate would best represent you. Two independent resources offer good info: Project Vote Smart is at www.vote-smart.org or 1-888-VOTE SMART. The League of Women Voters is at www.lwv.org or 1-800-249-VOTE.

LOSING MY IDEALISM

SOURED ON NATIONAL POLITICS BY THE IMPEACHMENT FRAY, TEENS ARE TURNING THEIR ATTENTION TO LOCAL ISSUES

The day Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr's report about President Clinton hit the Internet, Michael Strong lost his idealism about politics. And as he watched Congress hold its partisan impeachment hearings, his feelings turned to disgust.

"Before this, I kind of had an idealistic view of Washington, of how much they worked together," says Strong, 16, a junior at the University of Chicago Laboratory School. "It's been disillusioning at best. It's kind of upsetting how much they can bicker and act like little children."

Teens and political experts agree that the entire impeachment episode has deepened the distrust that teens--and adults, for that matter--feel toward politicians.

But as teens grow alienated from the national politics of Washington, D.C., they're channeling their energies where they feel they can do the most good--working on local issues in their own backyards.

Unlike the Watergate scandal, which forced President Nixon to resign in 1974, President Clinton's impeachment didn't rally young people's political passions. Nor did it stir their feelings the way another past event had. "We don't exactly have a Vietnam War going on here," says Sarah Newby, 16, one of Strong's classmates.

There is evidence, however, that teens will become involved politically if they can make a difference locally. Teens in Santa Cruz, California, convinced city officials to build them a park where they could skateboard. Students in New Jersey are lobbying the state legislature for more money for education. A group in Los Angeles created a fresh-food co-op.

"In national politics, one person really can't make a difference without selling out to party politics," says Rich Siegler, 17, of Chicago, who volunteers as a literacy tutor. "I really prefer to do things on a local level that don't involve changing my values in any way."

For related articles about teen politics, see the UPFRONT web site http://www.nytimes.com/upfront