Dorfsmith
12-11-2007, 11:48 PM
Just posted to Yahoo
http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20071212/cm_thenation/45259023
The Nation -- Harvard's Institute of Politics (IOP) released its fall survey of 18-24 year olds last week, finding young people engaged, progressive, and at least for now, planning on voting.
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The poll refutes the idea that young voters are cynical and predicts a continuation of the growing turnout seen in 2004 and 2006 -according to the results, 63% think that "political engagement is an effective way of solving issues facing the country," and over 60% plan on participating in the general elections.
But where will those votes go? A large number (37%) of young voters think there's a need for a third party, and perhaps as a reflection of that, are turning to nontraditional candidates, particularly Barack Obama and Ron Paul. The poll found Barack Obama leading Hillary Clinton 38%-33% among all young voters, and 44%-23% on college campuses. And while Giuliani leads the Republicans with 25% of the vote, Ron Paul is gaining, and the number of undecided voters has increased to 30%.
The director of the IOP, former representative Jim Leach (R-IA), an astute political observer, and until his narrow defeat in '06, one of the most liberal republicans in the house, having voted against the war and foresworn PAC money, said he thought this trend marked a frustration with politics as usual. "When things break down," Leach said, "there's a desire for something different." He also sees this playing especially into Obama's popularity among young voters. "He's younger, brighter, well-positioned on the war, and somewhat anti-establishment," explained Leach. "All those things put him in a very appealing position in the Democratic Party."
The poll was conducted online, and while a plurality (40%) of respondents identified their party affiliation as independent, a solid majority (46%) also said they were "liberal" or "leaning liberal." Only half the participants in the survey said they had access to a land line-- a reason, Leach said "telephone polling is consistently more conservative than internet polling."
In an effort to reach that internet generation, the IOP also announced the launch of their own Get Out the Vote project this week: No Vote, No Voice. Like other GOTV efforts, the site provides info on registration and volunteering, and a fair share of incentives--no P. Diddy endorsement, but there are lotteries for iPods and tickets to the Colbert Report.
What's unique about the site is its emphasis on peer-to-peer encouragement. Young voters take a pledge to vote, and to get five of their friends to pledge to vote. The site also emphasizes youth organizations--linking to projects run by young people such as the New Voters Project, and Vote Gopher and Campus Voices, both run by Harvard students. Framing the issue exclusively through other young people may be the ticket in getting a movement to the polls. Peer-to-peer communications, using all the tools of the internet are increasingly the way my generation gets organized, and efforts such as these could ultimately do more than any top-down lecture on participation.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20071212/cm_thenation/45259023
The Nation -- Harvard's Institute of Politics (IOP) released its fall survey of 18-24 year olds last week, finding young people engaged, progressive, and at least for now, planning on voting.
ADVERTISEMENT
The poll refutes the idea that young voters are cynical and predicts a continuation of the growing turnout seen in 2004 and 2006 -according to the results, 63% think that "political engagement is an effective way of solving issues facing the country," and over 60% plan on participating in the general elections.
But where will those votes go? A large number (37%) of young voters think there's a need for a third party, and perhaps as a reflection of that, are turning to nontraditional candidates, particularly Barack Obama and Ron Paul. The poll found Barack Obama leading Hillary Clinton 38%-33% among all young voters, and 44%-23% on college campuses. And while Giuliani leads the Republicans with 25% of the vote, Ron Paul is gaining, and the number of undecided voters has increased to 30%.
The director of the IOP, former representative Jim Leach (R-IA), an astute political observer, and until his narrow defeat in '06, one of the most liberal republicans in the house, having voted against the war and foresworn PAC money, said he thought this trend marked a frustration with politics as usual. "When things break down," Leach said, "there's a desire for something different." He also sees this playing especially into Obama's popularity among young voters. "He's younger, brighter, well-positioned on the war, and somewhat anti-establishment," explained Leach. "All those things put him in a very appealing position in the Democratic Party."
The poll was conducted online, and while a plurality (40%) of respondents identified their party affiliation as independent, a solid majority (46%) also said they were "liberal" or "leaning liberal." Only half the participants in the survey said they had access to a land line-- a reason, Leach said "telephone polling is consistently more conservative than internet polling."
In an effort to reach that internet generation, the IOP also announced the launch of their own Get Out the Vote project this week: No Vote, No Voice. Like other GOTV efforts, the site provides info on registration and volunteering, and a fair share of incentives--no P. Diddy endorsement, but there are lotteries for iPods and tickets to the Colbert Report.
What's unique about the site is its emphasis on peer-to-peer encouragement. Young voters take a pledge to vote, and to get five of their friends to pledge to vote. The site also emphasizes youth organizations--linking to projects run by young people such as the New Voters Project, and Vote Gopher and Campus Voices, both run by Harvard students. Framing the issue exclusively through other young people may be the ticket in getting a movement to the polls. Peer-to-peer communications, using all the tools of the internet are increasingly the way my generation gets organized, and efforts such as these could ultimately do more than any top-down lecture on participation.