youth vote
- Blogging the Election: Salute to Ya'll- MTV Street Team interviews me about what its like blogging the election and young voters. Cool thing is that it got picked up by the AP and is now posted on AOL, USA Today, and possibly more I haven't found yet... (I posted on the flip too btw)
- Students face HUGE obstacles when Voting- This morning Matthew Segal from the Student Association for Voter Empowerment" was on CNN talking about some of the challenges Students face and the rights that need to be protected for young voters.
- WaPo 5 Myths Piece a Myth- In a piece on the Washington Post aimed at dispelling (although pathetically) so-called myths post election Chris Cillizza had this as important as the second
A wave of black voters and young people was the key to Obama's victory. Afraid not. Heading into Election Day, cable news, newspapers and blogs were dominated by excited chatter about record levels of enthusiasm for Obama among two critical groups: African Americans and young voters (aged 18-29). It made sense: Black voters were energized to cast a historic vote for the first African American nominee of either major party; young people -- following a false start with former Vermont governor Howard Dean in 2004 -- had bought into Obama in a major way during the primary season, and they finally seemed on the cusp of realizing their much-promised potential as a powerhouse voting bloc.
- The Growing Alliance of Dumbledore's Army-
"Dumbledore spoke against the Wizarding World’s discrimination of Half-bloods, Muggle borns, Muggles, Centaurs, Werewolves, Giants, and House Elves. How can we fight discrimination based on race, physical and mental ability, age, sexual orientation, economic status, ethnicity, and any thing else?"
With over 12,000 friends on MySpace and 50 chapters in 7 countries across the world, the HP Alliance works against real dark forces as members of Dumbledore's Army that advocates for justice. Their specific causes include but are not limited to: - "Young Voter's Have the Power to Swing this Election"- So... the sad part of this is that my dyslectic tendencies made me transverse the dates for the film fest contest, so rather than submitting my video by the 12th I thought it was the 21st. So even though I was early... I was late.... That said, the importance of journalists correctly covering the youth movement this election is essential - 100% essential and those who flub the facts I know frustrate me to no end. Thus, here is my wrap-up version of this election according to youth
- Senate Candididate Does Campus Tour-
Jim Slattery, candidate for the U.S. Senate in Kansas, unveiled a new $5,000 college tuition tax cut last week.
"Few investments are more important than ensuring every young person who aspires to attend college has the opportunity," Slattery said.
Slattery said the cost of attending college has skyrocketed."Tuition at Pittsburg State has increased 75 percent in the last five years," Slattery said.
- Manager Admits Need for Youth Outreach & Technology- In an interesting development, one of the only four losing democratic congressional races in the country is speaking out. Second Congressional District Rep. Nancy Boyda's campaign manager Chad Manspeaker has posted a blog on the Kansas blog Everyday Citizen calling for a greater need for youth outreach and leadership development for youth in the state. After a tough year in Kansas that made only a net gain of one state house seat and lost a US Congressional seat, democrats in Kansas are bitter sweet. Inspiration for hometown favorite Barack Obama came out in force with a gain of 4% over Kerry's loss in Kansas in 2004. Obama also garnered a 65,000 vote gain since 2004. Yet even with those benefits, Kansas was unable to create any local benefits for itself.
- Montana GOP-ED Resigns Post-Voter Suppression- Just a few short weeks before the election Montana's Republican Party Director has resigned. No, not to spend more time with his family, but instead to take another opportunity in the private sector. This comes after a controversy I reported on earlier this month in gest, but the long and short is that 6,000 voters on the rolls in Missoula were challenged by the GOP, but when asked for the list of people "challenged" so that those folks could be checked out or would know that their registration was being challenged, the GOP said they wouldn't hand over the list. This just SCREAMS of dirty tactics.
- McCain Now Linked as ACORN Supporter-
Oh what a difference some perspective makes. Ben Smith has a great picture on Politico this great picture
And includes these little tid-bits
"The beleaguered Democratic-leaning community group Acorn sends over this photograph: John McCain, in March of 2006, sitting beside Florida Rep. Kendrick Meek at an event Acorn co-sponsored in Florida. The immigration event, which other photos show was packed with red-shirted Acorn member, was co-sponsored by the local Catholic Archdiocese, the SEIU, and other groups. McCain, still spiting much of his party on immigration at the time, was the headliner.
- Young Voters Elect Obama- Wow... I'm amazed and grinning from ear to ear. Young voters put Obama over the top in Florida, Ohio, Virginia, and Colorado. Colorado - specifically, took out an incumbent Republican US Senator, and a conservative Representative as well as electing a very young Congressman in Boulder.
- ACORN Fraud Story FAKE GOP Scam- UPDATE: Now John McCain's campaign is attacking Obama for being associated with ACORN All day the mainstream news has been reporting the so-called Voter Fraud on the part of ACORN that has registered over 1.2 million people to vote in low income areas of the country. THE FACTS: - all people who do voter registration are REQUIRED BY LAW to turn in the forms that they receive, whether they are valid or not. What ACORN does when they register someone to vote is then turn around and verify that the person is who they say they are. When the person can't be found ACORN then flags them as suspicious. When they turn them into boards of elections (which again they are require to do) those suspicious ones are flagged so BOE's can deal with them accordingly.
- Happy Trick or Vote Day!- The last day to register to vote in most states is tomorrow and you know what that means, time for the disenfranchisement to begin!! I am very excited about this! Every election I look forward to poor people having their votes stolen. Let's be honest, they really have no right to vote anyway. Poor people often talk funny and well... they're poor. Who wants to be friends with poor people? They can't do anything because its all too expensive for them. Wanna go to the bar with your poor friend? Too bad! Movies? Forget it. And going over to their place to play XBox - HA! Never going to happen. Therefore, the more disenfranchisement the better! We don't need those kinds of people in our society.
- Generation We-
Writer Eric Greenberg pulled together the results of over eighteen months of research, polls and focus groups to prove one thing: the Millennial Generation is a force to be reckoned with. Through his new book, and a website, Greenberg is harnessing the thoughts and energy of a younger generation.
GenWe was Greenberg's project to help the Millennial Generation empower itself against much scrutiny. Speaking with US News, he said:
"They are not a 'me' generation; they are the 'we' generation," he says. "They are about the greater good," he adds, noting that they're really jazzed up about the environment and the energy crisis. Armed with his huge study, he's urging both presidential campaigns to focus on one mega-idea the kids endorsed; an Apollo-style approach to the energy crisis."
- Festival the Debate-
Nothing says Debate like a good old fashion catfish fry and festival. Rock the Vote, today, organized a two stage hoedown in Oxford, Mississippi on the Ole Miss campus in preparation for the debate extravaganza to unfold.
Word on the street was the free t-shirts and swag was the best. Who doesn't love a free shirt?
- Huge Day for Voters from Congress-
"Today was a huge victory for us," Matt Segal the Executive Director of the Student Association of Student Empowerment (SAVE) said Thursday evening in an interview after testifying before the House Administration Committee on voting rights for young people.
This was the culmination of 5 months of SAVE members and volunteers working the Hill in efforts to educate Congress on the difficulties young voters face each election year.
These stories are not unique to us. Recently, even, we've heard about voter disenfranchisement affecting students. In Colorado and New Mexico as well as Virgina Tech students who are "being told that they risk losing their scholarship and tax dependency status if they register to vote in their college, as opposed to home, state."
- Interview with Youngest in Congress- One of the youngest Congressman serving is Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio. His office has been one leading the pack in youth and technology outreach for the past few years, and his urgency to listen to young voters has given a unique perspective many members lack. With a connectivity to the future and an eagerness to bring more young people to policy and government, it isn't difficult to understand why he is one of the most outspoken members of the 30 Something Caucus.
- Interview with Education Chairman- On a recent trip to Washington DC I decided to see if I could talk to a few of our notable Representatives in Congress. Rep. George Miller was not only available but eager to talk with me about the outreach the Committee had done in the first 100 days of the New Congress in 2007 to work with students on how we can make higher education easier and more manageable for students. Some friends who work on the Hill told me that he was a great guy, and very forward thinking when it comes to technology and outreach, but I had no idea he would be as engaging and eager to talk about the needs of students and ways in which we can continue our work after Election Day. It was a true honor, and I certainly look forward to seeing what is possible in the 2009 Legislative Session.
- Securing the Bottom Line- A new bit of research from EMILY's List was released today that shows some details about new registrants and down ballot candidates.
According to their research
"Of the 326,823 newly registered (this year) voters in North Carolina, 176,806 are registered Democrats, just 21,672 are registered Republicans."
- Thursday's Service Presidential Forum- Thursday night the presidential candidates talked about their views on service.
Obama: "America is the greatest country on earth, but it didn't just happen on its own. It is not a gift only.... it is a responsibility."
This has been a key component of the Obama campaign from the very beginning. If you remember his acceptance speech during the Democratic Convention his line "We are the ones we've been waiting for" is key in his belief that Americans can solve the difficult challenges we face with millions of hands working together. - Young Republicans Tackle Age and Race-
Today I met with many of the Young Republicans in the party who can't help but notice that the stereotypes of old, white, men are more valid than they would like. Leaders from the popular youth blog HipHopRepublican.com sat down with me to talk about opportunities that their party could harness if they were only willing to do the kind of outreach that Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama's campaign does.
The young people all have ambitions to achieve goals or run for office, but they are fighting an uphill battle in a tough establishment world. Their optimism reigns supreme, however, and the push mountains in efforts to move their party to something a little more mainstream.
- New Obama Hip Hop Vid- A new group Eklectyk Creative Media with Napalm Clique has produced an Obama hiphop video/mashup posted on youtube this week. The video begins with an excerpt from Obama's "A More Perfect Union" speech, and launches into a multimedia collection of the political candidate. It has strong video-editing and lots of creativity behind it. video have truly raised the bar for independent Hip Hop artists. In this production, real Hip Hop is used as a vehicle to inspire youth to vote and become involved in national politics.
- Youth Vote Matters to Pols maybe not Hollywood- Really great retell of a situation Jackie Borchardt from Politics West recalls of her first evening of DNC08
""We need more young people like you," a California delegate said to me while I slurped a lemonade outside the convention hall. I set the record straight: I'm not here for Democratic Party business. I'm a journalist here to learn about the relationship between the news media and politics. Still, he said, the world needs more aware young people. Message to other 23 year olds who might be walking around the Pepsi Center this week: you are carrying a lot of weight. Whether or not the "youth vote" exists, people are paying attention to the presence of youth in this convention."
- Robin Carnahan: Voter Protection & Young Voters-
Carnahan's are a pretty big name in Missouri politics as public servants who have gone above and beyond to lead and serve with distinction. The first (possibly only) campaign my cousin (who is 10 years older than me and have always looked up to) was a Carnahan campaign. I haven't stopped hearing about them since.
But as a next generation voter and politico in my family, I've discovered my favorite Carnahan in Robin for her relentless pursuit of fair and accurate voting laws.
Give the post I did yesterday about the Durbin/Schakowsky/SAVE Student Voter Bill extravaganza, I wanted to also highlight some of the dangers Missouri faced in had the new voter ID bill passed. These laws and other "policies" enacted by renegade county clerks can result in the disenfranchisement of hundreds if not thousands.
The bill presented yesterday seeks to help with some of those stumbling blocks, but the states can do so much more. Look to Robin Carnahan as a guide. As her site says - Voter Protection Key to Legislation Today-
At a time when organizations across the country are focused on increasing voter registration, the Student Association for Voter Empowerment (SAVE) has worked hard to make sure that when those newly registered voters go to the polls, their votes will count.
Today the movement to protect our votes will take a giant leap forward when SAVE teamed up with Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois and Congresswoman Jan Shakowsky of Illinois and Congressman Steve LaTourette of Ohio present the Student VOTER Bill of 2008.
Durbin said on the floor:
- Recap Netroots Nation With Video- So... finally I have video uploaded to YouTube from Netroots Nation. My post for Rock the Vote is here and includes this video. But below I want to share interviews in their entirety that include everything they have to say. To see all the videos I'm uploading here's the YouTube channel. There were a lot of things to talk about. Notably the myth that bloggers are young. I knew that, but had never quite seen that in action. There were many of us that were certainly under 30 and more under 40, but such a huge number of them that were older, x-hippies maybe... I think there is an assumption that we are all young and the reality was odd.
- Young Republicans, turning blue.....- As they do what they are noted for, but accuse others of in their growth of the spin, whining!
Gen-Nexters are feeling left out of the party.
Poor babies!
Yesterday we get Prince whining about his bottom line on Blackwater, after making millions of our dimes.
Today we get the youngsters, numbers dwindling, whining well about everything, in their free Blue Moon beer! - Upclose Activism- The Center for Community Change's Sally Kohn has a piece today about the passionate Millennial activism that is taking place online and the extent to which it happens off line.
- YD's Stand Up to Power Lose $1 Million- A post on Huffington Post has a story about the Young Democrats of America's Superdelegates being bribed by one of Hillary Clinton's strongest supporters.
- IN and NC set Precedent (or Presidents?)- Crossposted from WiretapMag
In the most exciting news I've seen on election coverage, the Washington Post declares Young Voters to be one of the winners of last night's election.
"No age group has been more ridiculed for their lack of participation than those under 30. But in Indiana that age group comprised 16 percent of the overall vote while those 65 or older comprised 15 percent. Under 30s went for Obama 61 percent to 39 percent, a margin that all but neutralized Clinton's 44 percent margin among older Hoosiers."
- Breaking: Indiana Voters Turned Away- According to a release from the Student PIRGs a number of Indiana voters were INCORRECTLY turned away from the polls today and given MISINFORMATION about the validity of their identification preventing them from casting a ballot they legally should have been able to cast. Let me remind you - that when the US Supreme Court made its decision they decided...
- A Better Deal-
Demos is hosting a great conference this week that will address some of the economic concerns that new workers are facing in this unpredictable, unstable, and darn near frighting economy.
A Better Deal: Reclaiming Economic Security for a New Generation will be May 8-9th, 2008, at The Liaison Capitol Hill in Washington DC. While this is a schlep for many folks there are scholarships and stipends available for need based folks interested in this topic. It would be wonderful if I could attend but ... alas... I cannot. The good news is that Mike Connery at Future Majority will be live blogging the conference and I'm sure there will be helpful multimedia available after the fact. - KS-Sen: Connected Leadership- Former Congressman Jim Slattery is making his way through Kansas today officially announcing his candidacy for the US Senate against Pat Roberts (R). Slattery for Senate has launched an unbelievable website, beautifully designed (complete with amazing video) showcasing his history of leadership and his life as a Kansan. I've spent the past year poking fun at websites in state and the extent to which people seem far removed from the web 2.0 explosion that has captured everyone in the country except for Kansas. Slattery's team gets technology. Perhaps that's because he's 200 years younger than his opponent. Or because Joe Trippi is consulting.
- BREAKING: Voting Rights Under Assault- The US Supreme Court just voted to disproportionately disenfranchises our rights to cast a ballot. Remember that whole thing about democracy and everyone having the right to vote - HA! I bet you thought that was real, right?? UPDATE 2: Rock the Vote recently released statement calling it "supremely wrong." UPDATE 1: Politico has also reported on the topic ------------------
- The League of Pennsylvania Voters-
Liz Rincon is the state director for the Pennsylvania League of Young Voters, and while she hasn't been on the ground organizing for more than several months she's done a lot.
"This was never supposed to happen. I think everyone was unprepared for this because Pennsylvania has never mattered before!" she said over the phone between spirits of answering questions to shouting voices in the background.
- Cultural Libertarians- Campaigns and Elections Magazine is about as wonky as you get outside of polling data, and aside from it being fairly establishment they do tend to talk about some outside the box ideas. I think I've seen them acknowledge young voters three times in my 2 year subscription I bought. Last month's issue headlined their issue with a picture of what looked like a Millennial in a South Park t-shirt, listening to an iPod, and whistling as he walked down the street carrying a copy of The Fountainhead.
- Right Now in 2008- A new fun viral video takes the Kansas GOP and national republicans to task for some of the failures we are seeing and urges folks to register to vote.
- The Hill Says Young Voters Don't Matter- Crossposted from Future Majority David Hill, a reporter for The Hill and republican pollster, attacked young voters and their enthusiasm today by directly targeting Heather Smith, executive Director of Rock the Vote. His argument is illogical, insubstantial, poorly researched, and dishonest.
- March 4 Young Voters Smackdown the Vote- Crossposted from Wiretap First, let me just say that I told you McCain would win. And Mike Huckabee conceded with a lovely speech about a pitcher that is always waiting and ready in the event the other pitcher can't make it. Media folks are speculating if this is Huck making a comment about being VP? Or is this a crack about McCain being so old he's nearing death? I think that this was actually a comment about Mike Huckabee's new career in baseball. Last night's primary and caucuses brought another opportunity for us to measure the successes of the youth vote. All of the following are for 17-29 year olds and can be found by combing through the CNN Exit polls.
- KS GOP Laughs Off Young Voters- This week after the Kansas GOP primary I got a tip off about a piece in a local Kansas paper about the caucus and the comparable turnout. Understandably, there was immense turnout for the Democratic caucus and not so much for the GOP despite the fact that the GOP caucus was infinitely more convenient - being on a Saturday morning which wasn't plagued with a blizzard.
- Caucus Hang Over-
- An Endorsement for Change- Crossposted from EDC I must warn you that this is a very personal blog for me. There is nothing I take more seriously than my position among our readers. And there is nothing I take more seriously than my loyalty to a candidate, a cause, and a movement.
- Jim Ryun Source of KS Voter Caging- I just had to tell ya'll about this because its something that makes me crazy. Last year around Christmas time - the Kansas GOP sent out what I'm sure they thought was a normal everyday fundraising email. What they mistakenly did was talk about all the great work they are doing and talked about their Vote Caging program.
- Young Candidates Step Up- I found out about two new young candidates in Kansas stepping up to the plate to run for office. I'm learning more and more about young candidates across the country and always love to shill for them as I go.
- Fox Reports Youth Vote Accurately!?- How could this be?! This is indeed breaking news, because it may very well be the first time FoxNews has done something right - er... correctly. This comes on the heals of the CNN blunder in reporting a lot of misinformation about young people and the youth vote in 2008. Add to that Naomi Wolf and Courtney Martin and you're ready for your own nuclear meltdown of frustration.
- CNN Gets it Wrong Wrong Wrong... Again- So CNN reported a story that is just wrong. Watch the video here and I wanted to go through and talk about all of the points that Carol Costello raises.
- Clinton Finally Launches Student Campaign Program- Hillary Clinton announced her student campaign program the HillblazersThursday at Wellesley. She joined many of her fellow candidates in focusing on college students which I certainly applaud her for.
- Vote Naked- Perhaps one of the best PSA's I've seen in a LONG time - a youth organization in another Western State is stepping up to let folks know about voting at home. New Era Colorado is joining the likes of organizations like Forward Montana in blazing trails to a new world of youth participation.
- Nagourney and NYTimes Distort Facts- In a web-only piece on NYTimes.com yesterday Adam Nagourney, a well respected reporter, used incorrect, and misleading information discrediting the importance of the youth vote.
- How the West Will Be Won- The NBC Nightly News and the Today Show are about to do a piece on the new trend in western states turning blue. They were tipped off by a great piece in the Denver Post about organizations like Forward Montana and New Era Colorado.
- A Youthy Agenda- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi released a Progress Report for Young Americans Wednesday touting the successes of the new Congressional Majority that won on a “new direction” agenda last fall.
- Pink Bunnies - Feel the Wrath- One of the greatest challenges to voter registration particularly for young people is that they tend to be a transient group of voters. Moving from your parents' house to a dorm then to a new apartment then you get a chance to move into a house with some friends - then have a falling out with the friends and move to a new place then graduate then get another job... well - voting and where you're registered to vote sometimes isn't the highest priority.
- Posse Powered Politics- This has been a difficult past week for me as my department at work got cut and I am now sadly unemployed. So – before I start my blog I want to give a huge shout out to the folks who have really stepped up to help me find work in the political youth outreach world. It’s true that you never really know who your peeps are until you need them and the people that have offered their contacts or passed around my resume have been overwhelmingly thoughtful for which I am exponentially grateful. So, let me kick off my first day of unemployment by addressing an important and too often ignored political topic: Volunteers.
- Inactive Angels- As part of a larger examination into young people and their split from one sect of the political world to the other, I’ve been doing a lot of research into the youth evangelical movement.
- ending the year, beginning growth of the progressive scene- Previously posted on the Young People For Blog. This marks the end of my school and academic year, the beginning of my third decade of life, and the completion of my second year of college. It has been a year of amazing successes and advancements. I have watched the progressive movement in my area wax and wan and now begin to grow stronger than ever.
- Big Money Screws Young People- Last night I had an exciting opportunity to join an org called Forward Montana for their latest forum The Naked Truth. A unique thing about Forward Montana is as a membership organization they poll their members for what issues or candidates etc.. that they are interested in.
- Candidates Should Mobilize Students for Education Reform- Cross posted at Future Majority John Edwards and Barack Obama released their education plans this week. Both are proposing solid first steps to reduce the burden that rising tuition places on students and eliminate some of the most egregious abuses of the government/corporate lending system. The plans are both good (and I'll post a head to head review of both plans later this week) but I'd like to see the candidates take it a step further.
- Linking the Progressive Youth Movement and Local Blogosphere- Cross posted at Future Majority The media life of the CTYD YouTube video was informative to watch. It's the first time (that I can think of) that a democratic youth operation successfully used new media and the blogs to get out a story that didn't have a coordinated national push already behind it.
- 2008 YouthRoots- Cross posted at MyDD. Please recommend. One of the things I want to do through the course of this primary is track the "youthroots," or "under 30" grassroots organizing on behalf of candidates - campus groups, high school groups, or other identified youth groups (like Punx for Dean in '04). I want to not only track these groups, but look at how they organize their members, how they coordinate with each other, and how they coordinate with the "official" youth operations of the campaigns. The end goal being to compare, contrast, and establish best practices for youth outreach.
- Who Will Rock the Vote in 2008?-
Cross posted at Future Majority
I'm a little embarrassed that I found out about this from the Midday Open Thread over at Daily Kos, but Linkin Park has a new video that's got a political/social edge to it. I loathe Linkin Park, and there's a lot that's not great about this video - there's no coherent thread connecting the various social and political problems it depicts, and there's no "ask" or action item at the end. In short, it's no Mosh, but its encouraging to see nonetheless. At this time in 2003, artists were petrified of getting entangled in politics, and a video like this - as unfocused as it is - would have been unthinkable.
Seeing this video got me thinking, who will Rock the Vote in 2008?
- Registering the Future: Youth Voting on the Horizon- Weekly Voting Rights News Update By Erin Ferns This an entry in a series of blogs to keep people informed on current election reform and voting rights issues in the news. Featured Stories of the Week:
- Harvard IOP Survey 2007: Young Voters and Participation-
Cross posted at Future Majority.
The Harvard Institute of Politics released their spring survey of young voters this week. The survey has a sample size of 2,923 young voters - defined as 18-24 year olds - and was roughly split 50/50 between college students and non-college youth. For reporting on the horse race, I'll refer you to this piece in The Hill and this piece by Jason Fink, at Future Majority. (Hint: Obama and Giuliani are up, Edwards is WAY down.)
- Talk To Us: Democrats, Policy, and Young Voters- Cross-posted at MyDD and Daily Kos In 2004, John Kerry made a huge mistake. While touring colleges and universities,he delivered long-winded speeches about medicare and social security to audiences of teens and twenty-somethings whose main concerns were rising student debt, shrinking employment opportunities, and their friends, busy fighting an ill-conceived land war in Asia. As a result, one of the more popular sites during the '04 election was called John Kerry is a douchebag but I'm voting for him anyway.
