Next Steps for the Youth Movement

Young voters have earned a lot more respect from candidates, campaigns, and the general electorate after our strong performance this election, but there is still much more to be done. Here are some steps/goals I believe are important for the youth movement to begin tackling:

• Increase the role of youth in the Democratic Party infrastructure - Despite the role young voters played this election the Democratic Party is not going to just increase the role of young people in the party without an effort on our part. We need to work towards increasing the number of youth on the DNC, take leadership roles in district, county, and state parties, and have youth representation goals enforced for delegate selection.
• Increase the number of youth in government staff roles -Traditionally young people only end up with positions that involve opening and sorting mail and answering phones. We should work towards getting youth in positions with more responsibility at all levels of government.
• Continue working to bring government and campaigns into the 21st century - The Obama campaign did an excellent job using technology to engage and encourage participation from young people. The transition team seams to be moving in the right direction with change.gov. It is important that we continue to press for further progress in this direction both from the Obama administration and our local candidates and parties.

Those are just a couple of things I think that we need to work on. What steps do you think the youth movement should take now that the election has passed? Share your thoughts and ideas in the comments.