2010 elections

Thomas Goldstein and Thomas Bates, Executive Director of the Washington Bus and Vice President for Civic Engagement at Rock the Vote respectively, penned an op-ed published in today's Seattle Times. Goldstein and Bates took aim at the idea that youth's "low" turnout in midterm elections relative to older age groups ultimately means a smaller impact on the results.

It isn't exactly news that young people tend to vote at lower rates than older voters. The more interesting story is that even if young people turn out at lower rates, they can dramatically affect the election landscape and outcomes. That happened most visibly in the 2008 presidential election, but also in certain nonpresidential elections closer to home.

The approval of Referendum 71, the election of a young mayor in Tacoma, and two victorious young City Council candidates in Spokane are all evidence of the efficacy of targeting young voters. Moreover, the highest turnout in the state in 2009 was in the 43rd Legislative District, which has the greatest concentration of young voters.

Even with mounting evidence, too many campaigns write off young voters, and this tired habit has made the prophecy of low turnout a self-fulfilling one. It almost reads as a new definition of madness: Time and time again, campaigns don't invest time and resources into young people, and then are surprised when they don't mail in their ballots.

[...]

Luckily, we're doing something about it. Forward-looking organizations and campaigns have tested methods to engage young people and have committed resources to make them reliable voters. And we're seeing results: For the past three major election cycles — yes, even pre-Obama — the turnout of young people has steadily increased.

We know what works: Make sure young people are registered to vote, give them relevant information in an engaging way, and run campaigns that connect with their values.

The point both are making is that, blessed with size, the effect of even a subtle increase in the Millennial voting rate can be worth a few points in various midterm elections -- enough to tip those races in different directions.

As we move forward into the meat of the 21st Century, these younger people, increasingly becoming adults, are going to need to be pursued in a different way than past voters. This calls for aggressive engagement, complete with the "relevant information" Goldstein and Gates mention above, as well as managing campaigns that reflect youth's values.

Today is a national tragedy. Tomorrow will be a national tragedy. The day after tomorrow will also be a tragedy for America because eighteen veterans kill themselves every day- a figure that represents twenty percent of the suicides in this country. Veterans constitute twenty-three percent of this nation’s homeless population. Veterans represent nine percent of America’s population (http://bit.ly/94xbik).

These numbers barely begin to scratch the surface of the hardships we place upon our nation’s military and their families, but they are outrageous nonetheless.

The bravest and most courageous act I can imagine is the willingness to put one’s life on the line for something larger than oneself. My heroes—men and women such as Martin Luther King Jr, Gandhi, and Rachel Corrie who help guide me as I march forward with my life—are largely comprised of those who shared this trait. As such, our combat veterans are my heroes too, and the failure of our system to care for the mental health of veterans is a stain on America’s honor and reputation.

I would be remiss if I failed to point out that this need not be the case for so many of our veterans. The Iraq War was a war of choice. We should never choose war when there are other options on the table. Although there are many reasons I am challenging Steny Hoyer, I can promise that if he had possessed the courage to vote with the majority of House Democrats against the war, I would not be challenging him today. Unfortunately he chose to put politics ahead of the lives our men and women in uniform.

Numerous voters have told me that Iraq is old news or that a lot of other congressmen voted for the war too, so I should just cut old Steny some slack. 18 veterans kill themselves every day and countless other will go to sleep tonight in a park or a prison. Where is their slack? I can not blind myself to his selfish vote to go to war in Iraq as so many selfless veterans suffer. I can not put Hoyer’s vote to unnecessarily invade Iraq in the rear view mirror as troops continue to fight and die there. If we don’t hold our elected officials accountable for one of the biggest blunders in America’s history, what is the point of having a democracy?

However (and here is the biggest point of this editorial), regardless of the validity of going to war, we, as a nation, have a responsibility to care for those that we send into battle. Let’s embrace a culture of support and provide the necessary resources to ensure that our combat veterans are fully and healthily integrated back into domestic life.

Andrew Gall
Democratic Candidate for Congress (MD-05)
www.andrewforcongress.org

As I travel around the 5th District, knocking on doors, and introducing myself to voters, the first question people generally ask is why I am running. I often talk about public policy and the state of our nation, but I’ve come to realize that what they really want to know is my story- the events in my life that led me to take such a decisive step. Unfortunately this is tough to sum up an elevator length talk, so I’ve decided to write my story out so everybody can understand where I am coming from and what motivates me to run. Here is part 3 of 3:

Since announcing, I have received incredible encouragement from a wide range of people; nonetheless, I have encountered naysayers as well, whose basic argument seems to come down to- you shouldn’t run for Congress yet. Well, I’m a believer in the idea that procrastination is the grave in which opportunity is buried in. Moreover, if we do not speak out for what we believe in, our silence gives voice to that which we oppose. For example I can not in good conscience stay silent when our congressman votes for an unnecessary war in Iraq. I can not stay silent when our congressman writes legislation that allows companies that spied on American citizens to skip the justice system and be granted immunity to crimes without ever facing judge or jury. I can not stay silent as our government is bought and sold by powerful lobbying interests at the expense of everyday Americans.

Others may choose to delay to act in spite of these realities, but I have too much evidence that procrastination today can lead down the path to never going to happen. In my life, I have known far too many people that have been struck by untimely death. Last summer, I worked as a community organizer with Working America when death struck again. I worked closely with Shalico every day until she died of a heart attack at the age of 32. While she may not have been the pinnacle of health, she exercised every single day and didn’t do drugs; there were no signs that this was going to happen. Perhaps it was because I was a little bit older, or because I had seen her just the day before, or because her death seemed less controllable than a car accident, or getting shot, or hit by a train, but Shalico’s death was more of a shock to me than the others with which I have been forced to cope. It made me take stock of my own life and made me hungry to meet my professional goal of sustained positive change.

Shalico’s death helped re-spark that fierce urgency of now of which President Obama and Dr. King so forcefully spoke. I can not sit idly by while deployed soldiers lose their homes over $800 debts. I can not sit idly by while the gap between black and white grows obscenely large. I can not sit idly by and watch the American Dream of meritocracy get tossed aside for permanent upper and lower classes. I am running for Congress because I feel the fierce urgency of now to take back America from the plutocrats that hold up entrenched powers at the expense of the powerless by buying off our politicians. American democracy should not be for sale! We need public financing of elections to restore power to the public. I am running for Congress today because Marylanders- and Americans at large- need someone to fight against the corporate takeover of our democracy.

As I travel around the 5th District, knocking on doors, and introducing myself to voters, the first question people generally ask is why I am running. I often talk about public policy and the state of our nation, but I’ve come to realize that what they really want to know is my story- the events in my life that led me to take such a decisive step. Unfortunately this is tough to sum up an elevator length talk, so I’ve decided to write my story out so everybody can understand where I am coming from and what motivates me to run. Here is part 2 of 3:

After teaching English as a Second Language, I took the next step toward my vision of creating positive change through systemic fixes by working on affordable housing issues for local government. Subsequent to my year of service in AmeriCorps VISTA, I was more committed to creating change to help my country than ever before, and, consequently, I joined the Obama campaign.

Working on the Obama campaign was a transformative experience. While there were some magnificent large events such as the national convention in Mile High Stadium and the opportunity to shake hands with the future president and first lady of the United States, it was definitely the small moments with my volunteers that stick out the most- the 80 year old grandmothers that went out door-knocking daily, the middle-schooler who came in and made calls everyday after school, the countless other volunteers that demonstrated an unbelievable spirit of generosity. This spirit of generosity that I witnessed everyday on the campaign spoke to the richness of the American ideal when we come together to work for a more perfect union.

It was one of these smaller moments- a moment with one of America’s many unsung heroes- that led me to challenge Hoyer more than any of the larger, more historic moments. When I was going door-to-door in Iowa, the mother of an 18 year old who just signed up for service and was about to get shipped off to Iraq opened up and invited me inside to meet him. After I shook hands with Matt and thanked him for his service, she broke down while explaining to me that she was voting for Obama because she believed he, more than the others, would get us out of Iraq. She explained that her son had signed up without telling her and that he was the most important thing in the world to her. Matt stood awkwardly with his head down. She asked me to promise her that Obama would get our troops out of Iraq. I told her that I couldn’t promise something that was out of my control, but that Obama was the only major candidate to object to the war, and that, as such, I believed he would do everything in his power to get us out of there as quickly and safely as possible. I still struggle with my emotions as I look back and think about that cold December evening standing in the kitchen with Matt and his mom as she struggled with the dichotomy of pride in her son’s courage and service and anger with this unnecessary war. It was an anger that I shared. It is an anger that I continue to carry with me. I know that for much of America, Iraq is an abstract concept that has receded from the national conscience, but there are Americans that continue to fight and die in Iraq today. There are thousands of friends and families that must wake up every day knowing that someone they love is no longer here because politicians like Majority Leader Steny Hoyer capitulated to the Bush administration’s desires for an unnecessary war. There are thousands more that must live with the physical and emotional scars of war because politicians such as Steny Hoyer didn’t have the backbone to stand up for what was right. They didn’t have the backbone to stand up and say that we shouldn’t be rushing to war, that we shouldn’t send men and women off to die in a foreign land unless we are one-hundred percent certain that we will be attacked if we don’t act. There was no such certainty with Iraq- yet Hoyer didn’t have the spine to stand up for this country and its servicemen and women. No, instead he voted to send young men like Matt off to fight in a country we had no business in. Well after facing Matt’s mom, I can assure you that I will never vote to send our country to war without just cause.

As I travel around the 5th District, knocking on doors, and introducing myself to voters, the first question people generally ask is why I am running. I often talk about public policy and the state of our nation, but I’ve come to realize that what they really want to know is my story- the events in my life that led me to take such a decisive step. Unfortunately this is tough to sum up an elevator length talk, so I’ve decided to write my story out so everybody can understand where I am coming from and what motivates me to run. Here is part 1 of 3:

I put great weight on learning from example, and have consciously sought out heroes to guide me forward on a path that will lead me to a desired endpoint. Such guide posts come from luminaries such as Reverend King and Mahatma Gandhi. But the largest inspiration- my daily, tangible inspiration was definitely my mother. My mom has- for more than 30 years- run a non-profit service agency that focuses on providing alternative opportunities for at-risk youth. I want to carry out her vision to the next level. The overarching philosophy of governance that will guide me in my deliberative process is that every child, regardless of the circumstance they are born into, should have as close to an equal chance to succeed in life as possible. This is the philosophy that my mother helped turn into reality for thousands of at-risk young people at the micro-level, and this is the philosophy that I seek to come true for millions at the macro-level.

While in college, I more closely hewed to my mother’s example and provided direct services to kids. Every Saturday morning I would wake up bright and early to supervise a program that brought inner-city students to college and provided them with an additional day of instruction, in an effort to help them catch up to their more affluent peers. While I am proud of the work I did to help these 4th-6th grade students, it simultaneously demonstrated to me that our country’s gaping inequities can’t be overcome through the hard work of a single teacher or after-school program, but need to be addressed systemically through public policy.

Bloomberg ala BusinessWeek had a piece this week saying that the recent successes in policy initiatives by Congress and the Obama administration has caused an uptick in support that had slightly fallen during the HCR battle.

The upbeat attitude among younger Americans provides a boost to the president’s overall approval rating, with 56 percent of those under 35 saying they are happy with his job performance, compared with 41 percent among senior citizens.

“His approval ratings among younger Americans have eroded, just not as much as with older Americans,” said J. Ann Selzer, president of Selzer & Co., a Des Moines, Iowa-based firm that conducted the nationwide survey.

The piece goes on to say that a little over half of all young people plan on coming out to the polls in November and passes it off as a bad thing. Over 50% voter turnout for the largest generation in history is a pretty good turnout. Imagine what would happen if campaigns actually did outreach to these voters. The possibilities could be endless.

"Younger Americans are also more likely to support a government role in making sure everyone has access to health care, with 71 percent agreeing with that position compared to 57 percent among those 65 and older."

In what is some bad news for the Democratic candidates in November's midterm elections, young people simply aren't that excited to vote.

According to Gallup daily tracking poll data from March 1 - March 7, 18-29 year olds were the age group with the highest lack of enthusiasm toward voting, with 44 percent of respondents noting that they were "not enthusiastic" about voting in 2010.

One potential problem for Democrats is the lower enthusiasm about voting among young Americans. Twenty percent of registered voters aged 18 to 29 say they are very enthusiastic about voting this November. That compares with 31% to 39% of older age groups who are very enthusiastic.

Younger Americans are decidedly more Democratic than the national average. Thus, their apparent lack of motivation to vote -- if it continues until Election Day -- could deprive Democrats of the full benefit they could in theory derive if all 18- to 29-year-olds were to vote.

Democrats need to knock this number down quickly if they want to have anything resembling success this November. One way of doing that would be to pass comprehensive health care reform legislation. Young people want to see their politics made up of officeholders who are strong, problem-solving leaders, instead of weak, timid politicians.

While David Plouffe and Barack Obama drew praise with his outside-the-box approach in the 2008 election, including the amazing mobilization of thousands of new young voters, 2010 will be a different story for Democrats across the country unless something significantly changes. While it is only March, this is still very disappointing.

UPDATE: From Political Wire:

A new Harvard Institute of Politics poll of 18 to 29 year-olds finds young Republicans are showing more enthusiasm than young Democrats for participating in the upcoming midterm elections with 41% of Republicans planning on voting, compared to 35% of Democrats and 13% of Independents.