It makes me ANGRY that the youth vote will probably NOT show up to vote tomorrow no matter what!

[musicblind]

I'm supporting Hillary, but if having the youth of America turn out in insane droves meant Obama winning well... it might just be worth it! It is such a shame, a crime, awful, awful, that it seems like NOTHING can bring out the youth vote. Honestly, I do not think they are going to show up tomorrow either. They didn't show up for Obama in New Hampshire. They didn't show up for howard Dean. Not even MTV's "Rock The Vote" has ever made a huge turn in the tides.

I am a youth, and will be voting in my primary in May. But dammit if none of my friends know what the hell is going on with this election. I can hardly get them to care. I was asked by one person what a republican and a democrat was?????????????????????????????????????? She goes to college!

Okay, I do know a few who are into the elections, and are coming to my place watch the results trickle in tomorrow... still, I'd bet you a 50 that they think of better things to do than vote on election day!

The last presidential election made me so angry. I had these two friends who hated Bush, and who bitched and swore that they were going to vote against him on election day. Election day came and they never voted! I even offered to drive them to the polls but they were too busy... they were "tired".


To all the Obama fans who are excited about the youth vote tomorrow. I wish you the best of luck. In fact, I hope that you are RIGHT! I hate that my generation will not vote. I just, sadly, think that you will all be disappointed.

There is a reason that polls have never tried to work with cellphone companies. There is no point in polling people without landlines, because most of those people are the youth vote. Sadly, youth's don't vote.

[Gman]

1. Which is why I'm fairly certain Hillary will surprise a great many people

young people don't vote.

[NoBorders]

4. I'm an Obama supporter

And that is my biggest concern! But we'll see; his support doesn't consist exclusively of college students.

[annabanana]

2. Aw C'mon.... let's hang the kids the day AFTER tomorrow. . . n/t

[ursi]

6. I totally agree. this is not fair. our caucus in Reno, Nevada was full of young people

[MadBadger]

3. Exit polls do not accurately judge the youth vote.

[scheming daemons]

5. This year, conventional wisdom is out the window.....

....I think the youth will surprise you tomorrow.... REALLY surprise you.

[panader0]

7. Youths these days...........I'm 57, but I disagree with you.

I think the youth/college vote will be out in record numbers. Wait 'til tomorrow and if I'm wrong, you can razz me all you want.
Oh yeah, they will be voting for Barack.

[cobalt1999]

8. Every election cycle the same prediction is made...THIS is the year the youth vote will turn out.

And every year, they don't.

Excuse me if I take a "I'll believe it when I see it attitude".

[NoBorders]

9. "Obama has raised more from retired individuals..."

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/02/military-donors.html

"Youth vote, shmooth vote, Obama has raised more from retired individuals -- the second biggest donor group -- than any other remaining candidate."

[LeftyMom]

10. Of course MTV hasn't made a difference.

MTV is a tool a large corporation uses to sell stupid products and bad music to shallow people. It's hard to switch gears and halfassed "sell" involvement like it's shampoo. Doing so only makes people jaded and leads to the opinion that the process is stupid, commodified and irrelevant.

I'm 26. I've NEVER missed an election and I've been a poll worker twice. In 2004 some of our most fired-up motivated voters at my precinct were young people. One young man singlehandedly brought in all of his relatives and elderly neighbors to make sure they all voted, and he'd be walking out the door to call others and see if they needed a ride. Another young woman was only 17, but came in with her Dad because she wanted to be there, even if she couldn't vote yet.

If our candidates aren't getting more young people that fired up, it's their fault, because they're really not doing much to connect with young people or speak to their concerns. If you want the young to vote as frequently as the old, talk about college costs as much as you do about social security.

[musicblind]

11. sometimes I wonder if a candidate DID

pander directly to the youth vote ... would it really make a difference?


apathy, especially towards politics and issues of the world upsets me.

I write music and one of my songs describes it:

"If you don't want revenge
there is something wrong with you
worse than dumb its apathetic
would you ever stoop so low?

If you are not angry
then your mind must not reflect
my mind is not so dull you know
cause I have self respect"

[LeftyMom]

12. Young people are media savvy,

which is part of the problem. You have to be real and sincere, because we see right through fakery. Good luck getting anywhere in the current system by being honest and direct. So if you want to engage young people, you have to turn off the generations who buy into puffery, pleasant generalities and soundbites. Unless you can learn to talk to both, in which case you're a genius with demagogue potential and you scare the hell out of me.

[ErnestoG]

13. That's right, Hillars, alienate the youth vote. That will get you what you want....

[musicblind]

18. How am I alienating the youth vote?

I AM part of the youth vote who is disappointed in my friends and am trying to urge them to vote even if it means Obama wins! Some people on this board seem to take offense at EVERYTHING, and think EVERYTHING is a smear against their candidate. Just because I personally am supporting Hillary does not mean I dislike Obama (and yes that is possible despite how most of DU seems). This is a bipartisan thread about the youth vote, why it is not succeeding, and what we can do to fix it.

[SeattleGirl]

14. I say, let's wait and see what they do.

I'm hoping they WILL come out tomorrow, regardless of who they are voting for, because it's important to me, and it's important to the country.

I'm betting anything that they DO come out tomorrow and vote.

[TexasObserver]

15. I think the youth vote will come out.

They have a candidate to vote for who doesn't remind them of their grandmother.

[ErnestoG]

17. Obama has brought them out in droves.

[musicblind]

19. Well

He was supposed to bring them out in droves. I was excited for that. So far, exit polling isn't showing that big of a difference. It certainly didn't in NH. They waited for the college precincts to get back in before declaring a victory because they thought the youth vote may have turned out in those towns. It did not. They were supposed to for Howard Dean as well. I was SO excited for Howard Dean, and then it didn't happen.

I hope that they turn out today. Sadly, I know a lot of my friends, and while they would go to a rally, they wouldn't really bother to vote. It is bizarre.

I think Obama will be a big test of the youth vote today. IF they show up for Obama that might mean they're in the political process for good. (Once you start, you never go back). If they do not come out for Obama then it means something much deeper, and I doubt any politician could bring out the "youth vote". Maybe if Britney Spears ran.

We passed out surveys on a campus a couple of years ago that asked student's to name the three branches of government. SO MANY of them could not.

Sometimes I do not think it is a case of no candidate that speaks for them, but a case of forced ignorance because it is "uncool" for people my age to be in the know about politics.

[Neshanic]

16. "You know...for kids!" Just joking! It is really good if he gets all those young voters.

Then they can stay off my YARD!

[musicblind]

20. I do think

that if he DOES get them out, or Hillary gets youth to come out... that it will mean a long term change. I am optimistic enough to believe that if they come out once, they are much more likely to come out next time as well.

[EFerrari]

21. Well, you're wrong about the last presidential election.

The youth vote turned out in record numbers for Kerry even if your two friends did not.

The media initially said they didn't come out and then, they never corrected themselves when that turned out to be bullshit. Same with the claim that Bush got more Latinos in 2004. It was misreported and never corrected.

Your generation is voting. Maybe you need to stop listening to the corporate media and find out for yourself what is really happening. :)

[musicblind]

24. That is wonderful news

I was not aware of that. Are there links or articles with more information?

I know that I felt so let down by the way the youth responded in the last election I wrote a song about it. I am excited at the idea that that may not be the case. The thought of youth voting and the media covering it up ... hmmm.

[EFerrari]

25. I'll find it and pm it to you after I get some sleep.

The reason I know is my paper ran an article about how the youth vote didn't show up and I researched it. It turned out to be wrong, wrong, wrong.

And, it also turns out that the youth vote is targeted for vote suppression. The precincts close to colleges don't get enough equipment, you get robocalls threatening your financial aid if you vote in the wrong place, your absentee ballots go missing at a higher rate. You stand in longer lines and your registration is also challenged at a higher rate. (The Republicans know you mostly vote for Democrats and this is a concerted strategy.)

And the media misreports your votes.

The good news is, you are voting. You are working campaigns. You are coming out to political actions. And don't let anyone tell you different until you see the evidence with your own eyes. :)

[cooolandrew]

22. Yes they can. The enthusaism for Obama is far greater than 04.

The youth vote did turn out in NH but there was a counter vote in response to Hillary's teary mooment.

[Fierce]

23. The "youth vote" is always the most overrated.

Whenever I hear people talking about how "energized" and "empowered" and "aware" the "youth" are this time around, I ignore it.