Young Voters Forcing Candidates to Take Notice

In 1992, there was a record turnout for young people – more than 50% showed up at the polls. Those numbers declined in ’96 and 2000, and as young people stopped paying attention to the politicians, the politicians returned the favor.

Why should they pay attention to young people? They weren’t voting anyway.

Meanwhile, college tuition shot through the roof while grants fell through the floor…

Well, you guys are changing things. And fast.

According to recent polls, young voter registration – especially in the all-important battleground states such as Michigan, Wisconsin, and New Hampshire – is on pace to reach or even surpass the record-setting highs hit in ’92.

If registration hits a peak, voter turnout is sure to do the same. So you are part of history in the making.

As you will see from the story, Rock the Vote is on a real tear with voter registration. We have registered hundreds of thousands of voters this year and continue to work towards registering thousands more. More on that soon.

Registering to vote is not only about making your choice on Election Day. When potential voting “blocs” register together as a movement or trend, the candidates have to start paying attention. If you all keep it up, they will start talking about our struggles with college debt, unemployment and uninsurance. We can make the politicians pay attention.

This election, the youth movement’s voice could be at its most powerful.

Kerry’s campaign is rolling a bus tour through college campuses, and the Bush campaign’s web site even has a blog written by the Bush twins. Granted, their bus tours and blogs don’t have Paris Hilton and Snoop Dogg, but we encourage you check them out and find out where they want to take this country.

If you haven’t registered yet, make sure you check the deadlines. Most states have deadlines and if you miss them, you can’t vote. (We think this is total B.S.— mandatory advance voter registration prevents voting—but that is for another time and place.)

You can fill out your voter registration form on our website. All you have to do is print it, sign it, lick it and mail it—before the deadline.

If you already registered, make sure all your friends have too.

And don’t forget, on Election Day, the work is only half done. The next task is making them respond to the agenda afterwards. So stick around while we push our elected officials to raise the age of eligibility for family health insurance plans and replace college loans with grants.