Young people DO care!

Successful registration efforts in one California county have helped debunk the myth that young people simply have no interest in politics, proving that, when targeted, young people do vote. Voter registration for 18-19 year old citizens in Sacramento County, located in the state’s central valley and boasting its capitol city, rose from 5,131 in 2005 to 9,373 this year following two years of county efforts to target young voters.

These efforts began as a joint venture between county officials and the local school system, which staged mock elections, distributed voter registration forms and offered peer-to-peer help to students in order to teach the value of casting a vote.

As 17-year-old student Matt Carson, who cited his views on Iraq, the way we secure our borders, and how his paycheck is taxed as motivations for registering, put it: “Someone's taking you seriously. It's not a high school vote for homecoming queen."

Previous election results show that these same citizens show up to vote when registered. In the 2006 mid-term elections 67% of registered 18-19 year olds in the county voted compared to just 59% of overall voters.