Jackson Free Press

New York Times today: "After dismal turnout by young voters in 2000, surveys this year show that interest in the election among the young is near the highest level it has reached at any time since 18- to 20-year-olds were given the vote in 1972. And state election officials say registration of new young voters is coming in at levels they have not seen in years. Polls in the spring and summer from the Harvard Institute of Politics, the Pew Research Center and MTV all found that young people say they plan to vote at a rate that will far eclipse the low-water mark of four years ago. The pool of potential young voters is substantial - about 40.6 million Americans ages 18 to 29, or one in five eligible voters, according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, or Circle, a nonprofit research group that has concentrated on the youth vote.

"'This is a bigger group than 50- to 65-year-olds,' said Carrie Donovan, the youth director at Circle, which is based at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy and financed by the Pew Charitable Trusts and Carnegie Corporation of New York. It seems like so much of it is influenced by the kind of buzz that's out there, and this year, there's a real buzz.'"

Previous Commentsshow

This is where the real issue with calculating the projected winner is... Most calculations are based on previous elections. This election is an entirely different situation. I know of more young people that have registered to vote in the last year or so because of the war and Bushwhacked economics than ever before. Of those, most are leaning 100% towards Kerry. Hell, I actually know people who don't vote (for their own reasons) who are voting against Bush this year just because of his sanctimonious push for a constitutional ban on gay marriage, unions, and recognized partnerships. Bush may get one helluva surprise if these young people vote to the left as they have historically.

kaust

Sep 15 2004

Yeah, and I suspect a lot of them aren't home when the pollster called. When's the last time you answered a phone call from a pollster? Just sayin'. Of course, that could cut both ways, politically, but mostly I think there's a huge uncertainly quotient in this year's election, and a lot of that revolves around young people.

DonnaLadd

Sep 15 2004

Philadelphia Enquirer columnist Jane Eisner's new book, "Taking Back the Vote: Getting American Youth Involved in Our Democracy," is excerpted over on Alternet. She writes" The best research on this subject ñ and there now is fine scholarship on how to motivate voters ñ tells us that the most effective way to get young people to the polls is to ask them, personally. Knock on the door on the Sunday before the election. Give them information on when, where and how to vote ñ not even who to vote for. Help them get to the polls, and they will. I've developed my own ritual that has not yet been scientifically tested, but I believe will work. And that is to publicly celebrate a young adult's First Vote. Think of it: We record soccer games and dance recitals, fuss over bar mitzvahs and proms, but the first time a young person performs this central act of citizenship, it is generally greeted by a collective yawn. So I urge you to hold a First Vote assembly in your school. Read their names aloud on radio stations and in church the Sunday after the election. Take them for pizza. Buy them flowers. Offer them free tickets to the school football game or the next dance. Organize a community celebration. Do something to mark the day. This generation of Americans is not only the brightest, most educated this nation has ever seen. They have estimable qualities of compassion, tolerance, egalitarianism. They can become a new Greatest Generation if we give them the tools and encouragement to be active citizens. Help them take back the vote. Full excerpt here I couldn't more with her last paragraph, by the way. It's time that we stop demonizing young people, and help them be all they can be. I love the idea of a new "Greatest Generation." And I see the potential for it around me every day.

DonnaLadd

Sep 19 2004

I like this part, too: We have to help young people connect the dots, to understand that it is not enough to serve soup in a soup kitchen ñ we must work to end the conditions that caused hunger in the first place. Unfortunately, a decline in civic education in American schools over the last three decades has left young people unaware of the principles of our democracy and the role of local, state and national governments. In our rush to improve verbal and math testing scores, we've dropped one of the most essential roles of schools in a democracy: To help the next generation learn the tools necessary to become active citizens. We haven't given young people a reason to vote, and they have acted accordingly. Yet, as we are seeing in the heightened interest in this 2004 presidential election campaign, these trends can turn around. Compelling issues and exciting candidates help, of course, but in the long run, the nation needs to address more fundamental obstacles to voting. Amen, sister! Be sure to read the whole piece for yourself. It's good.

DonnaLadd

Sep 19 2004

This: We have to help young people connect the dots, to understand that it is not enough to serve soup in a soup kitchen ñ we must work to end the conditions that caused hunger in the first place. highlights the need for both Charity and Justice. And, by justice, I mean social justice, not criminal justice.

kate

Sep 20 2004

I couldn't agree more.. it's seemed strange to me ( recently ) that voting ( realistically, your major opprotunity to participate in the process of being governed ) is met with apathy more often than not.. I see that you're hosting a youth voting rally ( whatever that may mean ) on the 30th ( a fine day! )... please be certain and grab the "new" voter reg forms from http://www.lwv-ms.org/forms/reg.pdf .. I tried to reg at the JAM!, but it wanted my social security number, and while I do love Jessica, I don't write my social down on pieces of paper for strange people to take to parts unknown.. wait.. maybe that was a Collective thing, well whatever.. the new form doesn't ask for a (full ) social, and that's the point. Maybe you could even talk Malcom into giving a free drink to folks with an "I voted" sticker .. ok, that one might be a bad idea..

You know which Ed this is

Sep 24 2004

FYI, the social is not required on ANY of those forms according to my sources... So, don't be skeeered.

kaust

Sep 24 2004

http://youthdebate.newvotersproject.org/slashdot

dvc

Sep 24 2004

Ed, I was just trying to get your social security number for my own personal reasons. My plan was foiled. But on another note, I am so excited that my darling face Casey Parks is heading this voter rally! The Collective has been so busy the last few months, and I think this is going to be the best event yet!

Jes

Sep 27 2004

I _KNEW_ IT! I'm so glad that you couldn't have just looked on that app and gotten my social now. Been trying to talk the folks up here at the workplace with voting eligble kids to make a big deal out of it.. who knows if it works yet or not, but it can't hurt I suppose. Can I just bring the voter registration form that I already have filled out the rally thursday? -ed

You know which Ed this is

Sep 27 2004

Yes, Ed, bring it. We'll be hand-delivering all the new registration forms on Friday. Maybe we should dress up or something. ;-D It is a big friggin' deal to vote, you know. I remember when apartheid ended in South Africa and blacks got the right to vote for the first time, I clipped a photo out of the newspaper of an elderly black man who had to be helped to the ballot box, with a person on either side holding him up. The photo was of him straining to reach out and drop his ballot in the box for the first time in his life. It was one of the most powerful images I've ever seen. Of course, we had many, many moments like that in this state during my lifetime. It is about the power of a whole bunch of individuals who get together -- whether to bring independent film to Jackson or to make Mississippi a friggin' swing state to be reckoned with. We can do it, people.

DonnaLadd

Sep 27 2004

NY Times editorial: n the last presidential election, about 37 percent of citizens between the ages of 18 and 24 voted, a sharp decline from 1972, when more than half did. The relatively low participation rate of young people is often attributed to apathy or the distraction of other things in their lives. But a lack of support, and sometimes outright hostility, from elections officials is a significant factor. With issues like the Iraq war and budget deficits that could last for decades in the forefront of the presidential campaign, young people have more reason than ever to fight for their right to vote - and to cast their ballots on Nov. 2. It is nice to think that elections officials want to do everything they can to help young voters. But the truth is, many cities and towns with colleges and universities regard student voters - who are more transient than the average resident, and whose political views also may be different - as a challenge to the established order. As a result, local elections officials often discourage students from registering and voting from their campus addresses, even though the Supreme Court has ruled that they have the right to do so. [...] Even when they are not actively discouraging young voters, election officials are often unwilling to take steps to make it easier for them to vote. They often resist appeals to put polling places on campus, one of the best ways to make students feel included in the electoral process. And they devote too few resources to registration drives among students, whose rapid turnover makes them a group that requires special attention. Full editorial

DonnaLadd

Sep 29 2004