Whatever the other causes, voters aged 18-30 just flaked out. Nearly 40 percent of the electorate was 60+.
So, we have to come up with a way to self-propel the youth vote.
I know our two daughters, in two different colleges, had to be pushed by us to register. Almost none of their friends were voting.
Top-down organizing can work, but it can't work alone. We need something self-organizing, something that makes voting very social and socially acceptable for that age group.
Here's my thought. If it gets a strong response, we'll figure out how to get it started:
VOTER CIRCLES
One person (aged 18 to 30) agrees to find and help 5 other people about their age to vote.
Each of those five people agrees to find 5 others and do the same thing.
We set up a website that, if you enter your zip code, we direct you to the voter registration, with a short bullet list of what you need to do.
We set up social media spheres to support this, on FB, Twitter, instagram. I work in this area, and can go into detail, but assume there are easy-to-use communication structures set up. FB pages for each Circle, to mention the most obvious.
There's also some social incentive system. Ideas: each Circle can choose to sign up for giveaways that are provided by local or national merchants to support voting by young people, like song downloads or autographed pics of supportive celebs, or discounts to local retailers. I think there are enough local retailers in many localities that would love to get the promotion. But only Circle participants get them.
Another social booster: Circles come together before the election to meet other Circles and chill.
Something like this can work. It needs to be a social lattice that is self-organizing and self-propelled.
Thoughts?