Things have been pretty busy lately (needless to say) but I wanted to take a quick moment to give you an update about some interesting facts and stories from the past week or so.
Voter Registration: The Obama-Biden campaign is committed to enabling as many people as possible to exercise their fundamental right to vote. But you have to registered in order to vote, and the campaign has been very successful in ensuring that every eligible voter is on the rolls.
Taking Virginia as an example, just a week ago a group of committed HS students travelled down to Virginia from Maryland where they knocked on an astounding 12,000 doors in a single weekend.
It's this kind of hard work that has resulted in the numbers described below.
Virginia now has more than five million registered voters, a new record, as of the deadline for registration for the fall election closed on Oct. 6th, according to the Virginia State Board of Elections. The total number of registered voters in Virginia is now 5,021,933. Since January, Virginia, a swing state this cycle, has experienced a net gain of 436,000 new voters, including what they call an "onslaught" of new voters in the last week of registration. Nearly 40 percent of the newly registered voters across the state are under the age of 25. Trends show that, regardless of age, females represent the majority of new registered voters. Source: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/10/15/1549807.aspx
Virginia now has more than five million registered voters, a new record, as of the deadline for registration for the fall election closed on Oct. 6th, according to the Virginia State Board of Elections.
The total number of registered voters in Virginia is now 5,021,933.
Since January, Virginia, a swing state this cycle, has experienced a net gain of 436,000 new voters, including what they call an "onslaught" of new voters in the last week of registration.
Nearly 40 percent of the newly registered voters across the state are under the age of 25. Trends show that, regardless of age, females represent the majority of new registered voters.
Source: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/10/15/1549807.aspx
VoteforChange.com
One of the key components of our voter registration efforts has been www.voteforchange.com
This website is a one-stop shop for voter registration.
This website also will allow you to request an absentee ballot, check your registration status, and even find your polling location for election day.
You can check it out on Facebook as well at http://apps.facebook.com/obama/
Debate
Near the very end of the final presidential debate last Wednesday night, Obama stated:
"I also have to disagree on Sen. McCain's record when it comes to college accessibility and affordability."Recently his key economic adviser was asked about why he didn't seem to have some specific programs to help young people go to college and the response was, well, you know, we can't give money to every interest group that comes along."I don't think America's youth are interest groups, I think they're our future."
"I also have to disagree on Sen. McCain's record when it comes to college accessibility and affordability.
"Recently his key economic adviser was asked about why he didn't seem to have some specific programs to help young people go to college and the response was, well, you know, we can't give money to every interest group that comes along.
"I don't think America's youth are interest groups, I think they're our future."
From Day 1 through the present, Senator Obama has understood that investing in young people is an investment in our future. As President, he will follow through on his promises to make college accessible and affordable to all Americans.
Campaign Is Putting Their Money Where Their Mouths Are
In addition to our strong field outreach, our campaign has been doing a variety of innovative advertising designed to reach out to younger voters and make sure we don't leave anyone out. We're continuing this commitment through the end, and are excited to see the initial result of our efforts both on the ground and on the air on Election Day. You may have read recently that the Obama-Biden campaign is the first presidential campaign to take out virtual advertisements in video games.
The Talk
The campaign recently unveiled this website about having "The Talk" with your parents and grandparents. This may not be "The Talk" you're thinking about though...instead it's about talking to your parents and grandparents about supporting Senator Obama. While intimidating for many young people to initiate, I think we've already seen the impact of these cross-generational conversations. You can check out the whole website here at: my.barackobama.com/thetalk
Blog
Finally, I'm very proud of the blog we have up and running at students.barackobama.com, it's being constantly updated with stories and anecdotes relevant to youth on the campaign trail, I hope all of you continue to regularly check it out.
By Peter Dreier
September 15, 2008
Peter Dreier's 11-year-old twin daughters, Amelia and Sarah, are volunteering for the Obama Campaign.
Twenty-year-old Tobin Van Ostern finished his sophomore year last spring at George Washington University, but this fall he's enrolled in the Barack Obama campaign as a full-time organizer. The Richmond, Virginia, native started Students for Obama on his campus last year as a Facebook group. It now has chapters on 800 campuses, Van Ostern said, and the campaign has recruited thousands of college students and recent graduates to work as both paid staffers and unpaid volunteers through the November election.
Democratic Party strategists believe that in key swing states, a dramatic increase in turnout among young voters--and African-Americans--can be the key to victory for both Obama and the party's candidates for Congress. Campus activists, meanwhile, view the Obama campaign as a means to catalyze a new progressive youth movement among the Millennial (18- to 29-year-old) generation that they hope, unlike the political crusades of the 1960s youth rebellion, will be part of a broader, multigenerational coalition.
Ever since 18-year-olds won the right to vote in 1971, their elders have been disappointed by their level of voter turnout, which has typically been about half the rate of other voters. But after steady declines in turnout since 1972, young voters reversed the trend in the 2004 presidential and 2006 mid-term elections. This year, however, is likely to see a particularly significant increase in voting among Millennials.
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