UW Students Get Out the Vote
For Immediate Release:
November 7, 2006
Contact:
Amy McCaslin, Dir. Media Relations, WashPIRG 206 543 9628
Lucas Olson, New Voters Project Coordinator, WashPIRG, 206 661 4205
UW Students Get Out the Vote
SEATTLE – On Election Day at the University of Washington, youth voter
apathy met its match. The New Voters Project at the University of
Washington, a coalition led by ASUW and WashPIRG, led a massive and
successful “get out the vote” campaign that sought to reverse the trend
of low student voting rates.
Volunteers with the campaign braved the rain and ran a voter
information booth outside the HUB. These students passed out flyers
containing information on where to vote, how to cast a provisional
ballot, and why it is important to vote. “I was surprised how many
people had questions about where and how to vote,” said WashPIRG
volunteer Tina Utter. “I really feel like we made a huge difference by
being out there.”
Flyers were just the beginning, however. Students at the booth
encouraged passers by to whip out their cell phones and call a few
friends to remind them to vote. This tactic resulting in a surprising
400 phone calls made to friends.
“Having friends call friends is actually the best way to reduce young
voter apathy,” said Lucas Olson, the Coordinator for New Voters
Project. “People see that other young people are voting and regain some
confidence in the political process.”
In the 24 hours before polls closed, volunteers working with the New
Voters Project capitalized on this tactic and made nearly 800 calls to
UW students that had registered and pledged to vote with the Project
reminding them of the election and answering any questions.
The New Voters Project has its roots in the apparent cycle of neglect
between young voters and politicians. As young people vote less,
politicians put less resources into winning those votes, which makes
young people feel disenfranchized and even less likely to vote. “The
New Voters Project is breaking that cycle by turning out young voters,”
says Olson.
It appears that this effort has been successful a the UW campus and
across the nation. Early precinct tallies in Ohio, Michigan, and
Maryland show youth turnout already exceeding 2002, the last midterm
election. These early reports signal a third straight year where youth
voter turnout increased. In 2004, 18-24 year old turnout surged by 11
percentage points, three times the rate of the general population. And
in 2005, turnout in youth-dense precincts where the Student PIRGs’
worked in New Jersey and Virginia increased by 19% and 15%
respectively. Some of the precincts reporting include:
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321 students have already voted at the polling place at the Student
Union Building (precinct 21-17) at the University of Maryland College
Park, in contrast to the 149 students who voted at the same location in
2002.
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2006 voter turnout has already exceeded 2002 turnout at two University
of Michigan polling places. 256 students have already voted in
Precinct 4-1 as compared to 241 in 2006, and 250 students have voted in
precinct 1-7 230 in 2002.
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208 students have already voted at precinct 16-A at Ohio State University, as compared to 207 in 2002.
Anecdotal reports in other parts of the country all point to similar trends.
"It's been steady and great. This is the best we've ever had. I'm
really proud. They're our next generation. It's their voice that should
be heard now," said Priscilla DeBlassie, poll worker for the University
of New Mexico precinct.
"It's good to see so many more college students voting," said Salem, Massachusetts poll worker Louie Malionek.
The line to vote was long at Colorado University Denver this morning,
but students stayed put and voted thanks to a “party at the polls”,
complete with a DJ, students dressed like Uncle Sam and snacks. At
UMass Dartmouth, a free style rapper is standing near the polls,
rapping to each student a different reason to vote. And student
volunteers are braving torrential rains in Oregon and Washington to
phone bank lists of voters in a last minute push to get out the vote
there.
Meanwhile, in three Ohio State precincts (in the OSU student union)
this morning, poll workers incorrectly turned dozens of students away
from voting, citing inaccurate voter ID requirements. Undeterred,
student organizers brought in an attorney to intervene without skipping
a beat on their Get Out the Vote activities, and a steady stream of
students continue to flood the polls. Elections officials just added
more polling stations to keep up with demand—indicating higher than
usual turnout among young voters.
With parties, pavement pounding and perseverance, students are
conducting Get Out the Vote activities on 80 college campuses in 15
states through the Student PIRGs’ New Voters Project - one of the
nation’s largest nonpartisan, youth-led voter mobilization campaigns in
a midterm election. Earlier in the fall, these students registered
over 75,000 new young voters to vote, 1,900 of which were from the
University of Washington.
The Student Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs) are
non-partisan, student directed, state-based organizations that work to
solve public interest problems related to the environment, consumer
protection, and government reform. For 30 years, students involved with
PIRG chapters on college campuses have had a chance to face up to
society's big problems, take action, and win concrete changes that
improve the quality of our lives. The goal of the Student PIRGs’ New
Voters Project is to increase youth electoral participation and show
politicians and opinion leaders that young voters are an important
constituency, deserving and demanding of their attention.
www.studentpirgs.org
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