Youth Votes

[gnarlydorkette]

"MSNBC exit poll indicates that the youth did not vote. The 18-29 bracket voted the same this year as in 2000, while 30-44 group was down."

""All we’re hearing is that young people were at the polls all day and all night long ... colleges were turning out 90 percent of the campus. Where are those young votes?" " (@click

"...approximately 749,000 young people (age 18-29) voted in the 2004 Democratic primaries. Turnout for all age groups in those Democratic contests increased by about 33,000 votes, or 0.4%. Youth turnout decreased by 9,000 votes or 1.2% in the same Democratic primaries.Counting only those states that voted on Super Tuesday in 2004, the number of votes cast in Democratic primaries by people under the age of 30 is down from 686,000 to 614,000, a decline of 72,000 votes or 10.5%. Turnout by all age groups in the Super Tuesday Democratic primary states is down by 573,000 or 8.4%. Including all states for which there were exit polls in either year, the youth share of the vote in Democratic primaries was 9.84 in 2000 and 9.85 in 2004—essentially unchanged. Republican presidential primaries were held in 2004, but they were not contested, so turnout was dramatically lower than in 2000, when more than 20 million people participated in GOP primaries. @click


I don't understand why my own peers don't vote. I would say out of all friends I know or are acquintances with, only five did vote. ONLY FIVE out of, what, 150 or more. Common excuses: "I didn't know it was today to vote." "I didn't register." "I am too busy."
Busy? You forget? Maybe it is time to pry your face off the MTV channel on TV and look around, prehaps to breate some fresh air to get into your thickhead.
YOU WILL GET STUCK WITH THE TAXES AND WHATNOT. Whatever the old folks, whatever YOUR parents vote, YOU will get FOOT with the BILL. If you don't want the bill or the mess to clean up, THEN VOTE.
Next time, when there is a local election, DO VOTE. There is always an election, local or statewide or EVEN NATIONAL.
You dont want to get taxed heavily for something worthless? You dont want to work your ass off for your parents' pension? You don't want a senior citizen president to cut off college funds assistance AND increase tutition? Hm... HOW to stop those-- VOTE.

I know this is a LATE message but hopefully this will show something for MY PEERS.
JUST VOTE, DAMMIT. 5 MINUTES OF VOTING (AND HOPEFULLY AT LEAST AN HOUR OF RESEARCH ON WHAT YOU ARE VOTING ON) EQUALS A LIFETIME YOU WON'T HAVE TO SUFFER JUST BECAUSE YOU WERE "TOO BUSY" PARTYING.

2008-- VOTE FOR YOUR PRESIDENT!!
2006-- VOTE FOR YOUR GOVENOR (Not sure for all states but California for sure... VOTE ARNOLD!!! Change your aprty to Rep then vote for him then switch back... WHY? BEcause if you are undecided or DEMOCRAT and you vote for Arnold a REP-- YOUR VOTE WON'T GET COUNTED. Why? PROP 60 GOT PASSED. BLAME ON IT.)

I am going to get involved with politics. I am going to fight against ban on homosexuals, against the attempt to add law to ban choices of abortions and many more.

The deaf audience needs to have their "voice" heard... OR SEEN.

 

[jazzy]

I will not vote Arnold cuz he is a$%$&^% IN 06.

 

[Banjo]

Jazzy, just curious... why is Arnold an asshole?

 

[jazzy]

My husband's workman comp was cut off because of Arnold. Without Arnold, he would have gone thru another surgery and might be well enough to go back to his job by now but now he has to wait for long time, stuck and deal with extremely pain. Arnold already put alot of people out of jobs.

 

[DeafSCUBA98]

the most common excuse i ever heard is " vote doesn't count"

 

[Vance]

gnarlydorkette, welcome to the club and dirty politics!

For many years, I don't want to get involved with politics until Bush and 2000's Florida Fraud. That's where I decided to get involved with politics and voice my rights by voting and blah blah, you know the rest.

Now, a question is why do I want to vote for Arnold? He is the possibly worse governor ever in California history. He recently closed the state park depts down and plan to market these state parks to highest bids for drilling or whatever.

Or are you suggesting that I change my platform to republican to vote Arnold out since undecided or democrats will not considering as vote in Cal? I must admit that I am bit confusing by your post. Care to elaborate a bit more? Thanks!

About young voters, I found yours a bit puzzled because of this:

If there was one group who really came through on Tuesday, it was the young people of America. Their turnout was historic and record-setting. And few in the media are willing to report this fact.

Unlike 2000 when Gore and Bush almost evenly split the youth vote (Gore: 48%, Bush: 46%), this year Kerry won the youth vote in a LANDSLIDE, getting a full ten points more than Bush (Kerry: 54%, Bush: 44%).

Young people were the ONLY age group that voted for Kerry. In every other age group (30-39, 40-49, 50-59, etc.), the majority voted for Bush.

In my state of Michigan, observers noted that it was the record youth vote that helped to put Kerry over the top in the state (AP: "Young Voters Played Big Role in Kerry's Michigan Victory")

Contrary to all predictions and to tradition, MORE young adults (18-29) voted in last week's election than in any other since 18-year-olds were given the right to vote in 1972.

It was the first time that a MAJORITY of all young adults came out to the polls: 51.6%.

Young adult turnout was UP more than 9% higher than the 2000 election ("Big Voter Turnout Seen Among Young People").

4.7 million MORE young adults voted in this election than in the last one. All these numbers are likely to go up when the millions of provisional ballots (and absentee ballots) are counted later this week (it is believed that young people were among the hardest hit in being forced to vote provisionally and students away at college make up a large bulk of the absentee ballots).

Rock the Vote and MTV's "Choose or Lose" had set the seemingly unattainable goal of getting 20 million young people out to vote. In the end, nearly 21 million youth voters cast their ballots last Tuesday -- A RECORD.

From the beginning, I believed that young adults and "slackers" would rise up in this election. As we began our slacker tour in Syracuse's football stadium on September 20, we could tell that this election would be like no other. It was no longer uncool to talk politics like it was five or ten years ago. Now, you were considered a loser if you didn't know what was going on in the world.

After speaking to the 10,000 gathered in Syracuse, we went on to hold rallies in 63 cities, mostly on campuses. Every night the events were packed, with anywhere from 5,000 to 15,000 people showing up. We registered thousands to vote and got tens of thousands more to sign up to volunteer with Move On, ACT, the College Dems and other groups like Vote Mob and the League of Pissed Off Voters. We reached perhaps a half-million people in person and millions more on local TV and radio in those 63 cities (all but three of them in swing states).

To be honest, this tour was a killer and not the easiest thing to do for a guy who isn't 18-29. Two (sometimes three) cities a day for over a month, crisscrossing the country, is enough to make you want to sleep for a year. But I was deeply inspired by what I saw. The level of dedication and commitment amongst everyday, average citizens was overwhelming. Each night from the stage I could see it in people's eyes that they were not going to give up -- and they, too, would not rest until Bush was removed from the White House.

In every town, this movement was being fueled and often led by young people. I don't ever want to hear another adult talk about how apathetic the youth are or how they don't have "it" in them. What you are about to see in the coming months is going to shock you. These kids aren't going away. They have a resilience that cannot be snuffed out by older people's whining and moaning about the state of America. THEIR America has yet to be formed as they see it, and this one setback is not going to stop them.

Witness the students at Boulder High School in Boulder, Colorado on Thursday, two days after the election. These kids can't even vote yet but that was not going to get in their way of expressing their outrage over what we adults had just done. The high school students took over the school by staging a sit-in and would not leave the building. They stayed there all Thursday night. They told the media that they were protesting the election results and putting Bush on notice that there was no way they were going to allow the draft to come back. It was the most uplifting moment of the week.

In the day after the election, the pundits were spewing their hot air about how the youth vote didn't matter this year. I wonder, even though they have the same facts available to them as I do -- the ones I've cited above -- do they just chose to ignore them because it doesn't fit into their tired old routine they call "conventional wisdom." I guess it is easier to simply repeat the same broken down clichés than it is to find out what the truth really is.

And it's even more important to kill what smells like teen spirit to them. God forbid if young people ever realized their true power and used it. Maybe what young adults need to continue to do is keep creating their own new media and news sources on the Internet and through other new technologies. Just bypass the old farts on Fox and CNN and all the rest. One thing's for sure -- by never challenging this president on his lies that sent our young off to war, they have proven which side they are on and it isn't on the side of the young or the future.

 

[TiaraPrincess]

My brother did not vote because he doesn't seem to care at this point. He's in college and he says he's too busy. He's not the type to place attention to other things than his studies. Maybe I'll convince him by 4 years, and that'll be when he is done with school. He also doesn't want to do jury duty. When you register, you will be part of this thing and possibly be selected for jury duty in the future. I hate this too.

There are truly some people who don't feel affected by the votes. All we can do is keep talking to them about it. Some people just don't see the real point of voting yet, and some people are too intimidated. We need to talk and reassure them.

 

[Reba]

My brother did not vote because he doesn't seem to care at this point.

Bingo!

He's in college and he says he's too busy.

EVERYONE is busy. That is no excuse. I know one old man went the polls in an ambulance because he had never missed voting, ever. Later that day, he died. I know about some women in labor that voted. I know many people with full-time jobs, school, and families, and they vote. I am sorry, but "busy" is a lame excuse.

Maybe I'll convince him by 4 years, and that'll be when he is done with school.

Maybe he will be more mature then.

He also doesn't want to do jury duty. When you register, you will be part of this thing and possibly be selected for jury duty in the future. I hate this too.

Each state is different, but in my state, the jury pool is picked from driver's license names, not from voter list.
Why doesn't he want to perform jury duty? I can understand if he just wants to postpone it until school break. The judge let me do that last time.

...some people are too intimidated.

How so? What are they afraid of???

 

[Reba]

About young voters, I found yours a bit puzzled because of this:

Who are you quoting? Please give links or attributions.

 

[Vance]

Who are you quoting? Please give links or attributions.

That article was wrote by someone else but author used the source from this and NY Times. I refused to name the author at this point. I am quite tired of these narrow-minded talks.

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=230341

 

[Vance]

How so? What are they afraid of???

Are you sure that you kept up with politics? Republicans have been intimidating everyone in poll areas. The newspapers was all over about these republicans. Voters does not need their immature craps, they just want to get in and vote then get out. I mean, why should they have to put up with their craps. Or not have enough time to deal with their immature behaviors?

I heard that some college professors gave the tests on Nov 2 on purpose to get the potential voters away from voting against Bush.

That's what I understand from reading one or two articles. I can't give you the link right now due to archiving these articles.

 

[Reba]

That article was wrote by someone else but author used the source from this and NY Times. I refused to name the author at this point. I am quite tired of these narrow-minded talks.

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=230341

I don't understand why you "refused to name the author"? It is common practice and courtesy to give credit to authors. It also helps readers to have the original source so we can read the entire context without you needing to print the entire article in a post. If it is not "top secret" then what is your problem?

 

[Vance]

gnarlydorkette, also exit polls shows that Kerry won the election. Not Bush. CNN and others have that exit poll but until 1 am or something, they changed the exit poll to 'reveal' that Bush won.

Exit poll historically are very reliable and never wrong. That's why many statisticians puzzled that Bush won, based on original exit poll, statistician already declared that Kerry won. Hence why several groups and two or three from Europe to investigating on these votes.

MSNBC's Olbermann confirmed that as well, he explained about it last night, I believe.. I missed that part grrr.

More new evidences: http://pages.ivillage.com/americans4america/id20.html

According to that, it show more votes than registered voters. It is pretty obvious that was cheating by lovely party, republicans. Evidently that they can not win without cheatings. The evidences have been building all week...

 

[Vance]

I don't understand why you "refused to name the author"? It is common practice and courtesy to give credit to authors. It also helps readers to have the original source so we can read the entire context without you needing to print the entire article in a post. If it is not "top secret" then what is your problem?

*chuckle* that author never care if we didn't show his/her name or not as long as the truth is out about them. That's true truthseeker.

As I said, I am quite tired of narrow-minded talk, I know it will lead to something else if I named the name of author. The source verified, it already do more than enough.

 

[Vance]

gnarlydorkette, read this article:

Electronic voting angst (Keith Olbermann)

NEW YORK — Bev Harris, the Blackbox lady, was apparently quoted in a number of venues during the day Monday as having written “I was tipped off by a person very high up in TV that the news has been locked down tight, and there will be no TV coverage of the real problems with voting on Nov. 2… My source said they’ve also been forbidden to talk about it even on their own time.”

I didn’t get the memo.

We were able to put together a reasonably solid 15 minutes or so on the voting irregularities in Florida and Ohio on Monday’s Countdown. There was some You-Are-There insight from the Cincinnati Enquirer reporter who had personally encountered the ‘lockdown’ during the vote count in Warren County, Ohio, a week ago, and a good deal of fairly contained comment from Representative John Conyers of Michigan, who now leads a small but growing group of Democratic congressmen who’ve written the General Accountability Office demanding an investigation of what we should gently call the Electronic Voting Angst. Conyers insisted he wasn’t trying to re-cast the election, but seemed mystified that in the 21st Century we could have advanced to a technological state in which voting— fine, flawed, or felonious— should leave no paper trail.

But the show should not have been confused with Edward R. Murrow flattening Joe McCarthy. I mean that both in terms of editorial content and controversy. I swear, and I have never been known to cover-up for any management anywhere, that I got nothing but support from MSNBC both for the Web-work and the television time. We were asked if perhaps we shouldn’t begin the program with the Fallujah offensive and do the voting story later, but nobody flinched when we argued that the Countdown format pretty much allows us to start wherever we please.

It may be different elsewhere, but there was no struggle to get this story on the air, and evidently I should be washing the feet of my bosses this morning in thanks. Because your reaction was a little different than mine. By actual rough count, between the 8 p.m. ET start of the program and 10:30 p.m. ET last night, we received 1,570 e-mails (none of them duplicates or forms, as near as I can tell). 1,508 were positive, 62 negative.

More ... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6210240


That was before last night which Olbermann confirmed that election was stolen. Mind you, Olbermann is the last unbiased reporter in TV media.

 

[Reba]

Are you sure that you kept up with politics? Republicans have been intimidating everyone in poll areas.

Not true.

I think any young college-age person that is afraid of potential (not even real) intimidation at the polls is a lame coward. Real intimidation happened at American polls in the 1950s and 1960s in the South. Brave black men and women of all ages risked strong insult and even physical harm by going to the polls. But they DID it! Recently, in Afghanistan, people travelled on foot to dangerous locations to vote. They risked their lives, but the DID it!

People have died to give us the right to vote, and I think it is a disgrace that we don't DO it.

Voters does not need their immature craps, they just want to get in and vote then get out. I mean, why should they have to put up with their craps.

They should quit whining and vote. Then file a complaint.

I heard that some college professors gave the tests on Nov 2 on purpose to get the potential voters away from voting against Bush.

You heard that? Where? That is very suspicious to me. Most colleges and professors lean to the left, so that doesn't make any sense. The local college here, and all the public schools, were closed for election day. That way, students and faculty could vote.

How about someone intimidating Republicans?
Republicans' Tires Slashed in Milwaukee

In Milwaukee, the tires of 30 vans Republicans had rented to help get out the vote were slashed...

 

[Reba]

*chuckle* that author never care if we didn't show his/her name or not as long as the truth is out about them. That's true truthseeker.

As I said, I am quite tired of narrow-minded talk, I know it will lead to something else if I named the name of author. The source verified, it already do more than enough.

If you can't prove the authenticity of your statements, then please don't use them. How can we know that your statements are true without sources?

Someone who doesn't want their name quoted is not a "true truthseeker". Unless that person's life is in danger, there is no reason to hide.

 

[Vance]

*chuckle* whatever you want to say. You just try to oppress me from posting the statement, that is totally understandable. Well, you cannot stop me from posting the statements (Thank you 1st Amendment, assuming that neocons will never remove or revoke it...) Once again, it was by someone else who is truthseeker. Like it or not, that is fact. I repeat: the source has been verified. If you keep insisting that I have to post, I offer you a tip: copy any of sentence in that statement and google it, you will find the statement who posted that article. I see no benefit for me to lie or whatever. As I said many times that I practice what Jesus preach while certain people didn't

Again, thank you and God bless you, 1st Amendment.

About republicans and slashed tires, I wouldn't surprise.. You know the famous quote: They reap what they sow? They had been intimidated many people and naturally, it got many people angry. Again, I repeat: That is totally unnecessary. And let's not forget that they stolen our Kerry/Edwards signs constantly. It was quite tiresome.

Several pollwatchers reported that republicans intimidated only democrats, not republicans (voters). so why? Unbelievable or not, Republicans have the lists on registered democrats.

Do you think that file a complaint will work? hahaha, thank you for laughs. Republicans will use the excuses left and right in their wakes, nowaday courts are no use to free-thinking people, only republicans.

If you want us to compare how many dirty works Republicans or Democrats did with voters? Sure, I have a long, long and long list of republicans and their oppression on voters. You need to know one thing about me, I will never debate with anyone without any facts to back up. I am sure that you do that as well since we have been debating forth and back endlessly these days.

About universities, you are quite correct that the professors tend to be democrats but administrators aren't so therefore they can 'order' professors. That's my guess and as what I said, I only heard from some students. True or not, I don't know. And um no, colleges/universities are NOT closed on Nov 2nd. In your local, maybe but not in many friends of mine. University where I attend did not close on that day. It is entirely up to professors, if they want to close their classrooms on that day then they can. I save the facts for below.

People have died to give us the right to vote, and I think it is a disgrace that we don't DO it.

You are right but do you think it will apply to neoconservatives? No. I am trying to find a statement about PATRIOT Act III but I unfortunately cannot back up my comment...for now however it state that recount will be forbidden in PATRIOT Act III. So why?

Now... about the facts that will back me up. Your comment:

Not true.

I think any young college-age person that is afraid of potential (not even real) intimidation at the polls is a lame coward. Real intimidation happened at American polls in the 1950s and 1960s in the South. Brave black men and women of all ages risked strong insult and even physical harm by going to the polls. But they DID it! Recently, in Afghanistan, people travelled on foot to dangerous locations to vote. They risked their lives, but the DID it!

You know, I realize that you are trying to justify their actions. That worried me. Whatever is, allow me to post the fact. I will highlight the important part so that will be not missed. Here it is:

But at the election office, a county official told Han that only "permanent residents" may register to vote. College students, she informed the clean-cut twenty-year-old, must vote where their parents live. "This is just how we've always done it," county election commissioner Patricia DiSpirito told Rolling Stone. "A dorm is not a permanent residence -- it just isn't."

In fact, DiSpirito is flat-out wrong. Federal and state courts have clearly established that students have the right to vote where they go to school, even if they live in a dorm. But interviews with college students, civil-rights attorneys, political strategists and legal experts reveal that election officials all over the country are erecting illegal barriers to keep young voters from casting ballots. From New Hampshire to California, officials have designed complex questionnaires that prevent college students from registering, hired high-powered attorneys to keep them off the rolls, shut down polling places on campuses and even threatened to arrest and imprison young voters.

Much as local registrars in the South once used poll taxes and literacy tests to deny the vote to black citizens, some county election officials now employ an intimidating mix of legal bullying and added paperwork to prevent civic-minded young people from casting ballots. "Students have been singled out for outright discrimination," says Neal Rosenstein, government-reform coordinator for the New York Public Interest Research Group. "If someone was challenging the voting rights of a military person who is stationed somewhere temporarily, we'd be screaming that it's not patriotic. There shouldn't be any less of a standard for students, who work and pay sales taxes in those communities."

*gasp* See? Do you think I am bullshitting you? Hence why I wonder why you are trying to justify their actions. In fact, I am waiting for one or two popular excuse(s) from republicans. So I prefer to wait for you to reply (if you plan to), I will know if I am right or not. 'file a complaint' is one of popular excuses but it is already used so what next? (I am inbetween joking and being sarcastic, pardon me)

And yet more...

Some local registrars make democracy as easy as possible, simply asking students what they consider their primary address. Several states, including Pennsylvania, Texas and Michigan, ban most added scrutiny as a form of illegal discrimination.

But in recent years, many election officials have been building a variety of hurdles to make it more difficult for students to register and vote. In May 2002, the city council in Saratoga Springs, New York, shut down a polling place at Skidmore College, forcing students to travel off-campus to vote. That same year, a judge in Arkansas tried to block 1,000 students at Ouachita Baptist University and Henderson State University from casting ballots, ruling that they must vote in their hometowns -- even though the deadline for absentee ballots had already passed. And when students from the University of New Hampshire showed up at the polls on Election Day that year, poll workers handed them a pamphlet warning them that voting locally could affect their financial aid and taxes. The scare tactic worked: Many students left without voting.

Refusing to register students is "a blatant form of disenfranchisement," says Jennifer Weiser, who advocates for young voters as associate counsel of the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University. "It's clearly illegal."

Are you sure that Democracy is still alive in America? *chuckles* okay.

In some cases, election officials simply don't seem to understand the law. Jehmu Greene, president of Rock the Vote, was surprised by the response when her group called state election offices in Oregon and Washington about laws regarding student voting: "They were clueless about the issue," says Greene.

There's no way to tell how many college students are being turned away by local election boards -- but observers say it could be enough to re-elect George Bush this fall. Voters under the age of twenty-four favored the Democrats by at least twenty percentage points in each of the past three presidential elections, and polls this year indicate that they favor John Kerry by as many as ten points. If the race is as close as last time, keeping turnout down among voters at one major college campus in each battleground state could tip the election to the Republicans.

Should I go on..? or you can just read more from this: http://www.progress.org/2004/vote27.htm (I have to stop posting some more statement due to 10000 characters limit)

Since you practically 'insisted' me to not post the statement that I posted above so therefore I ask you to not justify your pals' actions as well. I hope that will clear up your doubts all for once about my statements on young voters.

I have many more about young voters and intimidation issues. But that article have plenty evidences... I don't think there is any excuse to any republican(s) to deny these actions... but well, that's my opinion.

And yes, I must admit that I shouldn't justify the people who slashed republicans' tires. I just state that I can understand how people feel toward these intimidators and do the classic action: an eye for an eye. Which I surely do not approve it but as you see, intimidators did not stop. They threatened young voters endlessly... Like put them in jail? please, intimidators need to grow up.

 

[gnarlydorkette]

Allright allright, let's get back on the track-- Youth Votes.

Magatsu, I have read upon your articles.
Prehaps your article covered the youth votes for Republican as well? I posted Democractic's statistics. I went back to the website of the statistics I posted, and surprise! They CHANGED their message to this: "Youth Turnout Up Sharply in 2004!" Hm. I guess they got on their soapbox too SOON.

They have narrowed the age group to 18 to 24 instead of typical under 30 as "youth votes" and cleared up some confusion regarding statistics like we are having here... there are various factors that affect the overall numbers of the youth voters especially the age range.

Here is the press release @ http://www.civicyouth.org/PopUps/Release_1824final.pdf
And read at the bottom... it is a disclaimer and reminder to not confuse with youth electorate and clarify that the youth share vote has remained the SAME. Hm interesting.

@ http://www.civicyouth.org/PopUps/FactSheets/FS-PresElection04.pdf This explains the difference between exit polls and their statistics with several disclaimers. In general, the eligible voters under 29 have INCREASED but in overall including the elecorates it just stayed the same.

It seems, in general, the youth are more "liberal" and have the tendency to support Kerry. Unfortunately there is not enough liberal people to have Kerry as our president. Unfortunately now we will pay for our older peers' mistake.

But still nevertheless, do you think the youth has been derailed off the politics? There are MORE young POTENTIAL voters out there and what are stopping 'em? :-/
I think it is the LACK of motivation and knowledge in the EDUCATIONAL SITES, especially HIGH SCHOOLS. I am not arguring about colleges/universities, believe me I have seen the HUGE turnouts at the campus but what about high school? You KNOW there are some 21 yr old students in high school. So the possibility of having a 21 year old student.. hm then THERE MUST BE MORE 18+ YR OLD STUDENTS! And these students only took ONE semester of politic/government in whole four years in my school. ONE SEMESTER TO TEACH US *yes included me* ABOUT HOW WE CAN DO FOR OUR GOVERNMENT. What? They made us learning outrageous mathematics for physics four straight years that most of us won't ever UNDERSTAND and then they scoff at us for doing something for GOVERNMENT, e.g. VOTING??
I know MTV and whatnot have done their best to spread the votes but I have never seen them rallying at highschool. MAYBE they should.. I mean.. in four years THE HIGH SCHOOLERS TODAY WILL VOTE IN 2008 ELECTION!

And ANOTHER THING that is interesting.. Kerry is all for the youth voting (and yes he also claimed to have their votes) but... what about Bush? He seemed to not be so enthustic about having the young people voting... Why? Does he know something about the youth in general? If somebody would liek to defend me, go ahead. I am all for hearing both sides but I am still anti-bush I am only concerned myself with Youth votes, especially.
It is just interesting to me that Kerry is proud to have the youth of America backing him up while Bush used the scare tactics to keep his supporters (that is mostly older than 30yrs) hiding under his cloak. (yes I have gone too far with the anti-Bush statements but haven't everybody gone far too?)

I have spoken with my husband about me volunteering to educate the deaf about how to vote and what is involved inthe process. He raised his eyebrow and said, "And you will tell them to vote for who?" I was outrageous at him for making such a claim. I WOULD NEVER NEVER IMPOSE my belief on somebody else but I WILL FIGHT. If you prove me wrong, I will accept humbly, but if you have NO case, then it will prove that you are just voting with your eyes covered. Of course if I am going into something liek this, I will refrain myself from getting on the soapbox and beating my own drum and wave my flag or whatnot... but still I will like to give explanations and what each side is supporting and et cetera... something to HELP my peers out.
My husband had to explain somebody that is twenty-one years old about HOW the election occurs. This person never learned about his government. He is a BORN AMERICAN. There is something TERRIBLE wrong...
This person was interesting to go and vote but his father told him NO. What? (I may understand why... you don't want somebody who just found out today is the election and willing to go into and fill in bubbles for fun without any prior research... prehaps that was the father's reason, but NEVERTHELESS-)

The deaf voters (or at least the eligible voters) need their own programs or something to educate them how to vote and how to decide and analyze their candidates and know where to vote and whatnot. They are left in the dark. They didn't know about the election day. They didn't know they CAN register. They didn't know where to go. They didn't understand what the register book was saying. They didn't understand why people were getting all huffy about pro-Kerry or pro-Bush...

What do you think about this idea to spread awareness for the YOUTH and deaf as well? Do you think they need to try that out? If they do bother to make sex education videos in ASL, they might as well make some videos regarding the voting process! SOMETHING TO INTEGRATE THEM INTO THE MAJORITY PUBLIC! (bingo bingo amen amen hallelujah!)


(and about Arnold-- I shouldn't put it in the same post about youth votes because it seemed I have distracted people from the main point I want to make. When I have vented all my bitchin' about BUsh and the youth vote *the LACKOF* I will move onto the topic of reelecting Arnold and intensely study him and build up my case instead of jumping off a wrong board upon my own whim. Deal?)

 

[jazzy]

I have two sons who voted last week for first time. There is no excuse for college youth not to vote. My son had to drove one hour home from work to vote then drove one hour to class he attended. After class he drove one hour back home. He took his time to vote.