Organizing for America | Luke Messac's Blog: Iowa Caucus Date Strengthens the Student Vote

Iowa Caucus Date Strengthens the Student Vote

By Luke Messac - Nov 13th, 2007 at 7:53 pm EST

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Democratic organizers for the upcoming Iowa caucuses are beginning to realize that their unusually early date—January 3rd—could increase the power of the student vote.   As Norm Sterzenbach, the political director of Iowa's Democratic Party, explained to the Washington Post this week, college students will have a greater impact because they will be on winter break and voting in their home towns:

"Everybody talks about college students are going to be disenfranchised and they're not going to be allowed to participate.   It's actually going to be the exact opposite. College students can have a significantly higher impact now--by voting at home rather than on campus."

Why does having students spread around Iowa give them greater say in the caucuses? Because the formulas used to apportion delegates benefit candidates who are able to win majority support in a large number of precincts rather than overwhelming support in a few.   So if students vote as a bloc, their votes will make a bigger difference if they are spread out across the state.

With SFBO chapters working hard to make Obama the student's choice for president, this early caucus date could be a great boon to the campaign.   But with 50 days to go until the caucus, there is still much to do to maximize the student vote for Obama on the big night. As the Washington Post explains, turnout is the key:

"Obama has strong support among younger Iowans…If Obama actually can turn out a sizeable percentage of these student voters, his campaign may have caught a break by the timing of this year's caucuses."

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