Posts with the tag youth vote

Young Voters Showed Their Power -- But the Work Has Just Begun

misspronounced — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 10:41:50 EST

On November 4, 2008, more young people voted than in any election since 1972, marking the third major election in a row in which youth voter turnout increased. Two days after the election, Campus Progress hosted an event looking at the role young voters played in this election cycle and exploring ways young people can use this momentum to build upon their political power and influence. The event was a discussion between panelists and the audience members, moderated by Campus Progress Policy and Advocacy Manager, Erica Williams.

In the discussion, the panelists agreed that the high youth voter turnout and participation in campaigns during this election was impressive and game-changing. As panelist Reverend Lennox Yearwood, Jr., President and CEO of the Hip-Hop Caucus put it, young voters “smashed the kiddie table mentality,” and proved that young people have political power and will continue to exercise this power.

The panelists also commented on the idea that youth turnout on Election Day was the culmination of a “perfect storm of events” over the past few years. Panelist David Madland, the director of the American Worker Project at the Center for American Progress, noted that the economy was one of the most important issues in this election for young people not just because of the recent financial crisis, but because the economy has not been working for young people for a long time.

Kat Barr, Deputy Political Director at Rock the Vote, explained that the increasing involvement of young people in politics is a trend that has been occurring over the past four to five years. The number of young voters has been on the rise since 2004 and young people are becoming increasingly aware of political issues such as the war in Iraq, the climate crisis, the economy, health care and college affordability. While groups like Rock the Vote and Campus Progress helped students become more involved with the election this year, these efforts were bolstered by an overall feeling among young people that the country is headed in the wrong direction, and they could be the ones to change it. As Rev. Yearwood explained, “This became [young people’s] moment, and we saw that if we don’t do it now, we aren’t ever going to do it.”

The second part of the discussion focused on how young voters can use the momentum they have gained in the past few years to increase their political power. Both Amanda Carpenter, National Political Reporter for Townhall.com, and Rev. Yearwood agreed that the best way to increase involvement of young people in politics is by making government more transparent. Barr suggested that even though young people have spoken in this election, it is easy for politicians to ignore their voices, so now, more than ever, young people need to keep making their voices heard.

Most of the discussion during the question-and-answer portion of the event focused on how to get young people more interested in smaller, less-exciting issues. The panelists agreed that the most successful way to generate interest in smaller issues is by repackaging the issue as one that young people can directly relate to and understand.

The high youth voter turnout and participation in the 2008 election clearly answered any lingering questions about political apathy of young people. Regardless of the political role young people play in elections to come, this year they proved that they have the power to shape the future, and that their votes and voices should be recognized and respected.

The Incredible Youth Vote?

zaentztcf — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:40:20 EDT

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.

Issues and the Youth Vote

Kayla — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 11:58:51 EDT

TradingMarkets.com has an interesting perspective on how campaigns are targeting the much-desired Pennsylvanian youth vote by going online and talking about the issues that matter to young people.

The director of the Student Public Interest Research Groups' New Voters Project said groups like hers have become more sophisticated in how they get out the vote.
"If you apply the same kind of outreach tactics to younger voters as older voters, like face-to-face contact or phone banks, it works," Jahagirdar said.
Candidates, she said, are also more actively courting the youth vote by "focusing more on issues young people care about," such as college tuition costs. And Internet sites have become more sophisticated in recent years, with blogs and quick interaction, giving the Internet generation more of a sense that the campaigns understand them.

Apparently, campaigns weren't previously aware that young people worry about issues as much as older generations do.

Even Fox News has picked up on the relationship between the youth vote and issues.

TBA: Millenials Rising

Kay Steiger — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 16:34:49 EDT

Anthony Daniels, a gifted speaker who I've written about before here, started the Millennials Rising: Young Voters Revitalizing Democracy panel by saying, "As we've seen, voting is cool again. ... The youth can put you in office and they can take you out again."

What Time magazine leaves out of its youth vote coverage

Rob Anderson — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 09:40:59 EST

Critics of young Americans like to argue that we are too wrapped up in ourselves to care about politics, that we're too busy obsessing over our Facebook profiles to get up out of our seats and attend a political rally or vote. David Von Drehle's article in Time magazine should help those critics finally put that tired old stereotype to rest. Today’s young people do care about politics, but despite increased youth voting in 2004 and 2006, politicians still acted like we didn’t matter. No one really reached out and asked us for our support. But, as Von Drehle points out, Illinois Senator Barack Obama did in the run up to the 2008 primaries, and young people responded.

There's no doubt that Obama has lit a fire under young Americans, but it would be a mistake to view young people's interest in Obama solely as a response to his personal narrative. As Von Drehle correctly points out, Obama's success has as much to do with his organization and strategy as it has to do with his message:

Obama's support among youth is not just a matter of mood; it is a product of effort and organization, of finding his supporters and getting them to the polls. … Obama's outreach to students didn't spring from some starry-eyed principle. It started as a specific element of his early strategy in Iowa. The first-in-the-nation caucuses allow 17-year-olds to vote if they are going to turn 18 before the general election, which means most high school seniors are eligible. To win those kids, Obama did something unusual in politics: he made them a genuine priority. After his rallies in towns across the state, he met backstage with student leaders from the area — a privilege most campaigns reserve for local VIPs and fund raisers.

So when it comes down to it, young people today aren't really lazy or indifferent; we're just human. In general, people don't get excited about politics (or anything else) unless they know their voices are valued, that they can actually make a difference. Early in his campaign, Obama bet that if he told us we matter, we'd be more likely to support his candidacy. And his bet paid off.

New Hampshire Youth Vote Numbers

Annika — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 11:38:37 EST

It’s not just Iowa—according to preliminary analysis by CIRCLE, 18-29-year-old voters turned out in record numbers in New Hampshire last night. 43% of eligible voters under 30 went to the polls, compared to 18% in 2004 and 28% in 2000.

Check out this release for an interesting breakdown of which age groups supported which candidates—looks like the “youth vote” operated less like a monolithic bloc than expected.

Young Voter Revolution in Iowa

Ramya — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 00:11:01 EST

It's about time young voters got some well-deserved credit...and they should be getting plenty after tonight. Young people showed that they were politically engaged, passionate, and motivated as they turned out en masse for the Iowa Caucuses.

CIRCLE reports that over 56,000 folks under the age of 30 showed up to caucus in Iowa tonight, despite a caucus date smack dab in the middle of winter break for students, freezing temps, and long lines. According to CNN Entrance polls, 22% of Democratic caucus-goers were between the ages of 17 and 29. This represents a 5% increase over 2004.

Even more interesting is the fact that the number of young caucus-goers equaled the number of voters over 65, according to CNN. The senior vote has long been considered a hot commodity in politics and has made issues like social security and Medicare top-tier. One can only hope that youth issues like college affordability, global warming, and the war in Iraq will skyrocket to the top of candidates' priority lists, after young people have flexed their voting muscle.

Tonight's caucus clearly demonstrated that investing in young people can have enormous payoffs--something Campus Progress and other youth activist groups have believed strongly for years. Looks like 2008 could be the year when youth is relished rather than written-off.

MTV Picks 51 Young Citizen Journalists

Ramya — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 11:44:22 EST

The MTV Choose or Lose Street Team is comprised of 51 young people (representing each state in the U.S. plus D.C.) who will cover the issues that young people care about in the 2008 election and use mobile devices to relay this political news.

A complete list of the citizen journalists, along with links to their MTV profiles, can be found after the jump. Find out who'll be repping your state on MTV this year!

College-for-Vote

N.Raider — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:13:15 EST

I came across an interesting CNN article today talking about how a majority of NYU students surveyed would give up their right to vote if they received free tuition.

Equally as important was the finding that young people are very involved in the campaigning process but fail to show up when and where it matters the most, aka. Election Day at the polls.

I'm A Mama Bird

Jesse Singal — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 17:25:46 EDT

Former Campus Progress editor Ben Adler is already doing big things in his new gig as a staff writer for The Politico. Here's what he has to say about a newish voter mobilization technique:

For candidates looking to mobilize the youth vote, the answer may be in your pocket.

It turns out that text messaging the cell phone generation is equally as effective or more effective than such traditional get-out-the-vote methods as direct mail and phone banks, according to a new study by researchers at Princeton University and the University of Michigan. It’s also a lot cheaper.

Another finding: the simpler the text message, the better — no surprise, since most young people are accustomed to electronically chatting in abbreviations.

I feel like a mama bird that pushed one of its chicks out of the nest, only to have the chick come back a short time later, all grown up and writing for a national publication. Though maybe that simile's a stretch. Either way, big ups to Badler.