Over the weekend, Biden and Richardson announced that they do not support the right of Iowa students from out of state to caucus. Dodd has had four different positions in the span of as many days. The Clinton campaign seemed to retract her earlier comments and then not so much.
What is so shocking is that so few in the Democratic Party establishment and no one else in the Democratic primary field has weighed in on behalf of the utterly unproblematic, long-held progressive position that students have every right, and should be strongly encouraged, to register to vote. How hard can this be?
This has nothing to do with the horse race, this has everything to do with potential Democratic Party nominees abandoning principle and throwing young people under the bus to spin a loss in Iowa. This is no longer isolated to the foibles of individual candidates, this is turning out to be a broad failure of the Democratic primary field as a whole.
Here's Biden:
Following reports that Gov. Richardson is "asking governmental appointees and other state employees to volunteer to help his campaign by traveling to Iowa before the Jan. 3 leadoff presidential contest," and that Sen. Obama☼ is encouraging out of state college students to "come back and caucus," the Biden for President campaign today called on Richardson and Obama to join the rest of the Democratic field in pledging to refrain from shipping in supporters to affect the outcome of the caucuses. [Associated Press, 12/6/07], [Associated Press, 12/5/07]
Here's Richardson:
In addition, Reynolds said Richardson's Iowa staff has not and will not encourage out-of-state students to return to Iowa early to caucus, saying the campaign is ‘going to abide to the letter and the spirit of the law. I think the spirit of the law is what's most important,’ Reynolds said. [Des Moines Register, 12/1/07]
As Mike Connery wrote today:
Seriously how hard is it to understand that both the letter and spirit of the law encourage participation by Iowa students. This whole episode is really revealing the opportunistic, sleazy side of Democratic politics. That it should be this difficult to get Democratic candidates to say that young people can and should vote...
The argument that college students registering to vote on their campus is somehow wrong has already been condemned by the Jane Flemming Kleeb of the Young Voter PAC, Mike Connery of Future Majority, the American Prospect, the Nation, and a string of Iowa bloggers including John Deeth and Chase Martyn of Iowa Independent and desmoinesdem. All of them state the obvious: encouraging students to register to vote has been a mainstay of Democratic Party politics for years and were the date of the Iowa caucus to fall at any other time of year, this issue would never even have been raised.
Today, Rock the Vote Executive Director Heath Smith weighed in:
"Over the past week, several campaigns, candidates and political reporters have stated that college students who moved to Iowa to attend school should not vote in the Iowa caucuses.
"These statements are a frustrating and disappointing attempt to suppress the student vote, and are also legally incorrect. According to the Iowa Secretary of State, all Iowa students have the right to vote in the town where they attend college in Iowa. From the Secretary’s website:
‘If you are from another state (i.e. Illinois) and are attending college in Iowa (i.e. Iowa State University), you may register to vote in:
• your Iowa college town or
• your home state (hometown) and vote absentee - subject to the laws of your home state.’
"To tell students that they can only vote in the town that they came from, rather than in the town where they live, is a clear effort to disenfranchise student voters. Attempts on the part of campaigns to deter eligible voters from voting should be forcefully and immediately denounced.
"These statements are even more disturbing given the unprecedented levels of engagement we’re seeing from today’s young voters – both in participating in the 2008 campaigns, organizing their peers to register and vote in the caucuses and primaries, and in their recent historic turnout levels in the 2004 and 2006 elections. Young adults’ growing political participation should be encouraged, not deterred.
"Rock the Vote urges every campaign and candidate to issue a statement that validates students’ right to vote in Iowa and lauds young Americans for their increased engagement in the political process. We also encourage all media outlets to make clear in their reporting leading up to January 3rd that college students have rights equal to any Iowa resident to vote in the Iowa caucuses.
"Students go to a college or university for 4 or 5 years and many stay on in those communities afterwards. They pay sales tax, many work full or part-time jobs and pay income tax, and they are subject to the laws of the community in which they live – they have every right to vote in that community, legally and morally.
"It is important to note that this is an issue larger than the Iowa caucuses. Legally, students have the right to vote where they go to school in virtually every state across the country. Despite this, we see challenges to student voters year after year. As we have in the past, Rock the Vote will make sure all students know their rights in 2008, and will work to ensure all eligible voters are allowed to register and vote in the 2008 elections.
"Rock the Vote’s Iowa program Rock the Caucus aims to mobilize high school and college students to caucus on January 3rd. As always, Rock the Vote will aggressively ensure young people know that if they live in Iowa, they can vote in Iowa, and let them know where candidates stand on important issues like student voting rights.
"Again, Rock the Vote urges every candidate to issue a statement that clearly validates students’ right to vote in Iowa and lauds young Americans for their increased engagement in the political process.
It's a forceful, direct statement, and it doesn't flinch from challenging our party's potential nominees. Rock the Vote even mentions that they were do their best to let young people know where candidates stand on issues like student voting rights.
Student voters shouldn't be held hostage to the demands of the latest spin cycle. They shouldn't be disparaged for not turning out, and they actively discouraged from doing so. And we should expect from a Democratic field that would rush . Never have so many stumbled over one another so quickly to do something so dumb.
Every campaign should release a statement endorsing the democratic right of every Iowa student to participate in the caucus.
UPDATE: Iowa PIRG and Iowa student leaders have now weighed in as well, producing the following letter:
Statement in Support of Full Voting Rights for Iowa Youth
It is has recently come to our attention that some presidential candidates are suggesting that students in Iowa should not caucus. We're shocked that any national figure would advocate for youth disenfranchisement. This goes against the very grain of our democracy and the core values of our nation. We live here in Iowa for the majority of the year and make our homes here; we are active participants in our communities- volunteering, giving back and contributing intellectual and financial resources to the state. To say that students who didn’t grow up in Iowa, but who now live here, shouldn’t have the choice to participate in the caucuses is blatant voter disenfranchisement.
Read the rest of the letter here. It's signed by leaders in student government, the Iowa PIRG, and student activists:
Barret Anderson, Student Government President, University of Iowa
Alan Cosby, Student Government Chief of Staff, University of Iowa
Alejandro Alonso, Student Senator, University of Iowa
Harrison Wheeler, Student Government Publicity Chair, University of Iowa
Brian Phillips, Student Body President, Iowa State University
Dan Sadowski, Student Government President, Drake University
Julian Vandervelde, Right Guard for Hawkeyes football team, University of Iowa
Frederick Warren, Co-President Drake Environmental Action League, Drake University
Kaitlyn Golden, Student Leader, Drake University
Jessica Fischer, Student Leader, Drake University
Megan Bailey, Student Leader, Drake University
Rachel Haase, Student leader, Drake University
Kate Preston, Student leader, Drake University
Megan Stephenson, Iowa PIRG coordinator, University of Iowa
Colleen Delahanty, Iowa PIRG coordinator, University of Iowa
Stacey Wilson, Iowa PIRG Chair, Drake University
Devin Hartman, Iowa PIRG Chair, Iowa State University
Eleanor Kahn, Iowa PIRG Chair, Iowa State University Iowa State
Ryan Crane, Iowa PIRG Chair, University of Northern Iowa
Kristen Paeth, Iowa PIRG Co-Chair, University of Northern Iowa
Samuel Charnetski, President of Inter-Fraternity Council, University of Northern Iowa
Kristin Langner, President of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Club, University of Northern Iowa