More than 6.5 million Americans under the age of 30 voted in the 2008 presidential primaries. Time Magazine and other prominent publications dubbed 2008 "The Year of the Youth Vote." Political commentators and analysts have argued that the surge in the youth vote and its virtually unwavering support for Barack Obama was a key factor behind the Senator's ascent to prominence and his ultimate victory in securing his spot as the Democratic nominee for president. However, it remains unclear as to whether or not the youth voting bloc will be as powerful during the general election.

The Supreme Court took one of its many wrong turns this morning, this time with a decision that will make it harder for people to vote.  The result means we all have to work harder than ever to promote voting this year.  Luckily, some terrific organizations are revving up.  Some of us from Campus Progress were lucky enough to join Rosario Dawson, Maria Teresa Petersen (both pictured below), and others for an event on Saturday to support Voto Latino, which has been doing great work with new technology and young people since its founding in 2004.  We’re also glad to be working with HeadCount, which signs up voters at concerts and festivals – we at Campus Progress are not averse to these kinds of events, and we’re discussing new ways to work together.  Our good friends at Rock The Vote also deserve a mention, as well a voter registration button on our home page – they are doing a fantastic job this year.  Every one of us knows someone who really seems engaged and smart and all, yet somehow did not vote when last given the chance.  Point them in the direction of these organizations, or march them to a voter registration table or polling place.  Elections and change – they go together.  Please vote.

The Chronicle of Higher Education has a good story about some of the obstacles students face getting to the polls. They also explore some of the great youth voter registration efforts going on right now.

The most egregious problem:

Many students who go away to college want to register to vote where they are in school. In some states it is relatively easy. Minnesota and Wisconsin, both of which allow voters to register on Election Day, had the top two youth turnouts in the 2004 presidential election: 69 percent and 63 percent, respectively.

In some other states, voters must prove an "intent to stay." Election law in Ohio has specific provisions about students, who may vote, it says, if they intend "to reside permanently in the Ohio county in which the school residence address is located."

At least there is a good, student-led group challenging barriers to the ballot box (or screen): Student Association for Voter Empowerment.

If you aren’t registered yet – click here.

An editorial in the New York Times supports students' right to vote in Iowa caucuses:

Student are rightly up in arms about these statements. The law in Iowa is crystal clear: students who attend school in the state are entitled to register to vote in the state as long they are not registered anywhere else. The two parties’ rules say registered voters may participate in caucuses in the precincts where they are registered. Students have the same right to do so as any other Iowan.

The pressure from student groups has caused uniform positions reflecting the NYTimes' position. This shows the power students have when they put their mind to it. 

“No taxation without representation!” You heard them cheering it at protests in the 60s and 70s – 1760s and 70s that is. You’ve read the slogan on D.C. license plates. Today, you get to shout it out in solidarity with a bunch of voting rights advocates.

But now that the Democrats have taken over Congress D.C. will be able to give it a try. The way the federal government has treated D.C. in recent years has been a disgrace (I think Jose Serrano was right to call it "colonial"), and hopefully this is a sign of a more improvement to come.

cross-posted on TAPPED.

Today the House passed a resolution to give the citizens of the District of Columbia the right to elect a voting member in the House of Representatives.  The bill would also give Utah an additonal at-large House seat, which was denied after the 2000 Census failed to count the several thousand Mormon Missionaries serving abroad.  If it is approved and signed by the President, the bill would for the first time, give Citizens of the Democratic leaning District of Columbia a voting member in Congress, and give Republican leaning Utah an extra seat increasing the size of the House of Representatives from 435 to 437.

The bill was first introduced in March, but Democrats withdrew the bill after an attempt by Republicans to add an amendment which would have lifted a ban on simiautomatic handguns in the District of Columbia.   The bill was re-introduced this week with rules to prevent Republicans from using parliamentary proceedure to hold the bill hostage at gunpoint (figuratively speaking).

After much wrangling and arguing over Constitutional issues centering around Washington D.C.'s status as a federal district rather than a state, the bill passed 241-177.  These Constitutional arguements have some measure of validity.  It is possible that the bill may end up in the Judicial system should it be passed by the Senate and signed by the President.  Its passage in the Senate is uncertain, and already Republican leader Mitch McConnell has stated that he will use the filibuster to block its passage in the Senate.  President Bush meanwhile has stated that if the bill arrives on his desk he will Veto it (along with nearly a dozen other pending bills).