I was watching Hardball tonight, and I saw for the first time an political analyst (Matthews) give the youth vote the credit it will deserve for delivering the election to Kerry. In response to his commentary, here's what I wrote to Chris Matthews:
Mr. Matthews,
Much will determine who wins the election, and I think you are accurate to identify the youth vote as the X-factor.
The enthusiasm felt on college campuses is tangible and continues to be fueled by Jon Stewart's cult-like classic Daily Show and successful young voter awareness campaigns by popular figures such as P. Diddy through Citizen Change/Vote or Die, Russell Simmons through the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, Eminem through "Mosh" (a hit on peer-to-peer), numerous musical figures through MoveOn's Vote for Change tour, and Michael Moore through box-office hit Fahrenheit 9-11 and Slacker Uprising Tour.
Celebrities encouraging youths to vote is not new; but financial backing is. The most remarkable aspect of young voter outreach this election cycle is the unprecedented financial investment in proven youth voter outreach tactics by the Public Interest Research Group' New Voters Project and 21 Century Democrats' Vote Mob. Building off of traditional youth voter registration efforts proven by organizations like Rock the Vote, the New Voters Project and Vote Mob are using youth voter mobilization strategies proven effective primarily by studies conducted by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at the University of Maryland (CIRCLE) and Yale professors Donald Green and Alan Gerber. These methods include nonpartisan canvassing and phone calls by fellow young voters, use of the internet as a primary method of communication, text message voting reminders and quite simply giving young voters with the same level of respect expected by older voters.
Coupled with the most aggressive efforts by Democrats and 527s to Get Out the Vote, New Voters Project, Vote Mob, and organizations like it, have drastically increased the probability of an overwhelming college and youth vote turnout in battleground states, especially in those states that have same-day registration: Minnesota, Wisconsin, New Hampshire and Maine. With polling showing John Kerry with a 15-20 point advantage with the youths nationally, it's safe to assume large youth turnout favors the Democratic nominee.
Outcry, organization and outreach. Tomorrow, young Americans will be the difference in putting John Kerry and John Edwards in office.