Young voters flock to polls for midterm elections

Amanda Melillo Contributing Editor

Approximately one out of every four young Americans participated in the 2006 mid-term elections. On Tuesday, Nov. 7, nearly 10 million Americans under the age of 30 showed up at the polls to vote in the midterm elections, according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE). This number, an increase of nearly 2,000,000 youth voters, represents 24 percent of the under-30 population, up four percentage points from the 2002 mid-terms.

CIRCLE, based in the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy, found that 61 percent of young people voted for Democrats in House races, a higher contingent than any other age group. Democrats took control of the legislative branch of government for the first time in 12 years, winning 24 seats in the House and six seats in the Senate, as well as a majority of state governorships.

In the 2004 presidential election, national youth voter turnout was at its highest in a decade at 51.6 percent. Statemaster.com estimated that 45 percent of youth voters turned out in New York, the 23rd highest in the nation.

The highest proportion of youth voters voted in Montana, Michigan, Minnesota and Missouri, where Democrats won Senate races, in some cases by close margins. Before the elections, publications such as The New York Times and The Washington Post speculated that youth voters could swing the polls for the Democrats.

In a study entitled “Young Voter Mobilization Tactics,” a project by the Graduate School of Political Management at The George Washington University, researchers performed field experiments on a variety of voter mobilization techniques, such as door-to-door canvassing, leaflets, door hangers, phone calls and direct mailings. They also tested new techniques such as holding parties at the polls, absentee ballot request mailings, and election day reminder phone calls.

The study found that the most important tactics in increasing youth voter participation were: keeping youth voters on call lists, recruiting volunteers to call and canvass, making call scripts more personable, using youth-friendly technologies such as the Internet that allow engagement in dialogue, and avoiding automated phone calls or direct mailings.

In this election, young activists used media such as text-messaging and Facebook voter registration campaigns as ways to get out the vote. Groups such as Rock the Vote and Youth Vote Coalition continued their get-the vote-out campaigns. Votergasm.com, an initiative which started in 2004, links patriotism to sex and uses explicit sexuality in campaign slogans to encourage young people to vote.

Vassar students found ways to get involved with elections on a more grassroots level. On election day, members of the College Democrats knocked on the doors of every Vassar student registered in New York state.

College Democrats President Kari Kretch ’07 said of voting statistics, “Numbers were up just in general. An increased youth vote could have definitely given a boost. There’s always a big concern that young people are apathetic and won’t vote. When we remind students to vote, I am always surprised at the number of people that wouldn’t have voted otherwise.”

On getting young people involved, Kretch said, “I think that people don’t think who is in office really affects them. Young people tend to be not as concerned with the future, a lot just don’t pay attention.”

“On the other hand, there are so many young people who have done great things in terms of social action,” continued Kretch. “I think people need to make political issues first accessible to [youth voters], then make them aware of how it affects them, such as abortion laws or environmental issues.”

Several students were involved in Democrat John Hall’s campaign for New York Congressman. Hall defeated his veteran opponent Republican Sue Kelly. College Democrats worked phone banks for Hall and attended campaign rallies, and a small group attended a rally at which former President Bill Clinton voiced support for Hall.

Ryan Meltzer ’07, who spent the summer in Poughkeepsie working on Hall’s campaign team, said, “It felt like a longshot at the beginning of the summer. Looking at past elections, Kelly had torn Democratic opponents apart. As the campaign progressed and we got through the primary, it started looking more plausible.”

College Democrats member Michael Donnelly ’07 also worked on Hall’s campaign. “The biggest reason that [Hall] got involved in the race was because he felt the war in Iraq was wrong to begin with and since then has been executed even worse,” said Donnelly.

Hall is a long-time environmental activist and a founding member of Musicians United for Safe Energy (MUSE), which advocates against the use of nuclear energy.

Donnelly said, “[Hall] wants there to be no gap after leaving college until the time when you get a full-time job. He’s also into reducing the debt burden that students have and making sure that college is open to everyone that wants to attend.”

Donnelly also noted that Hall has one of the most progressive stances on gay rights in the country, and is a proponent of appealing the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.

The Vassar College Democrats are exploring new directions for the future now that the Democrats won major victories.

Kretch spoke of upcoming plans for the College Democrats, which include a letter-writing campaign to the New Jersey state legislature after the state supreme court turned the case regarding gay rights issues to their jurisdiction. They are also working on reproductive rights and having a screening of An Inconvenient Truth to address environmental issues.

“We’re raising money to buy EPA pollution credits,” said Kretch. “Basically, the EPA sells credits to businesses so that they can buy a certain amount of pollution. We’re buying a couple credits so that they can’t use them to pollute.”