washington bus

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.

Sorry for my miss on the usual Friday blog, I was traveling home from the Inaugural festivities. But an exciting thing happened in the world of recognition of youth campaigning.... Campaigns and Elections Magazine - the end all be all mag for politico's who work in ... well... campaigns and elections had their regular post-election vote on best practices that worked and which were the super best for their Reed Awards.

Trick or Vote, the Halloween GOTV program that gets young people to canvas in costume just a few days before the election, was voted the best GOTV.

"Our volunteers just did amazing work on Halloween," said Matt Singer, CEO of Forward Montana in a release. "We managed to reach out to over five thousand households in Missoula, Bozeman, Dillon, and Great Falls."

"We might be too old to trick or treat, but we’ll never be too old to trick or vote,” added Rep. Jefferson Smith, founding chair of the Bus Federation, which oversaw the national Trick or Vote operation. “The really important part about this event’s success was our ability to translate a cool idea to being used all across the country. This was a shared success of the youth vote movement, with a number of local organizations using this model."

The Campaign & Elections’ Politics magazine Reed Awards were awarded by a prominent bipartisan committee of political heavyweights, including Morton Blackwell, Tucker Carlson, Tom Davis, Monica Dixon, Ben Dworkin, Vic Fazio, Martin Frost, Julie Germany, Shane Greer, Ken Khachigian, Mike Hennessy, Ron Klain, Mike Krempasky, Kevin Madden, Mark, McKinnon, Dick Morris, Terry Nelson, Christie Pelosi, Amy Pritchard, Larry Sabato, Ron Silver, Jamal Simmons, Michael Steele, George Stephanopolous, Robert Traynham, Joe Trippi, Suzanne Turner, Vaughn Ververs, Amy Walter, Christine Todd Whitman, and Reid Wilson.

Also, if you haven't seen, the Scary Man himself, Wes Craven announced Trick or Vote as one of his favorite scary videos on YouTube this Halloween.

If you don't have a Trick or Vote near you, don't worry... you can have one. Go to TrickOrVote.org and grab the tool kit and start gearing up early for a great Trick or Vote in your city.

New PSA from our friends over at the Washington Bus

Don't forget to vote in the Washington Primary August 19th!

The Washington Bus has just left the station. According to an email announcing the launch of their website, the recipient of the west coast Go Grant, has taken to stirring up trouble by getting young people involved in politics.

Modeled off of their sister to the south's org the Oregon Bus Project, the WA Bus is offering similar programs including Trick or Vote, Rebooting Democracy, and enacting young people powered politics.

"The Bus exists to inject some of what is found in other volunteer opportunities into politics: fun, friends, festivity and the sense that everyone matters.

And it makes a huge difference: when 60 Washington Bus volunteers drop in on a county council race that has never seen so much support, the energy is palpable. And that feeling builds on itself. People who start the day as volunteers end it as agents of change. We see it happening. It’s magic. "

Candidate Derbies and Ballot Parties, the WA Bus is bringing young people together across the state to help register voters and get out the vote for 2008.

The website is fantastic, browse around according to the release email

" it was made right here in the US of A by Americans, guaranteed lead free and kosher for Christmas."

Though I'm sure Karl Rove will still find something to bitch about. Fantastic site for a fantastic organization!

Happy New Year and Happy Iowa Caucus! Talk to you next from the great state of Iowa!