Top Political Operatives Share Lessons from 2006 for Mobilizing Young Voters

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Urge Parties to Target Young Voters in 2008

Washington, D.C. -- June 5, 2007 -- At a Young Voter Strategies briefing today, a bipartisan panel of top political operatives urged campaigns to prioritize young voters in 2008 and presented the best tactics for doing so, based on 2006 campaign experiences. The five panelists, including pollsters from Lake Research Partners and The Tarrance Group, cited the success of several 2006 campaigns' youth outreach - and the growing voting power of the Millennial Generation - as evidence that both political parties can and must target young voters to win in 2008 and beyond.

At the briefing, YVS unveiled a new handbook, Young Voter Mobilization Tactics II, which profiles how seven 2006 races used canvassing, volunteer phone banks, campus voter registration, online social networks, candidate events, and issue engagement to mobilize young voters. Representatives of two of those campaigns, Joe Courtney for Congress and Arnold Schwarzenegger for Governor, spoke about lessons learned from their successful youth outreach strategies, and YVS also distributed a new tipsheet, Top Ten Tips to Mobilize Young Voters.

"A new generation has arrived at the polls," said Heather Smith, Executive Director of Young Voter Strategies. "In 2006, 18-29 year olds turned out in big numbers for the second major election in a row, and made the difference in several close races. In 2008, reaching out to the youth vote can and must be part of a winning campaign's strategy - and today's panel of experts and YVS's new handbook outline how campaigns can successfully mobilize the youth vote." Young Voter Mobilization Tactics II is one of a series of YVS "how-to" booklets and part of a larger library of opinion polling, demographic analyses, and strategic handbooks, all available on the Young Voter Strategies website.

After decades of decline, young voter turnout is trending upward and poised to be big in 2008. In 2006, 18-29 year olds' turnout grew by approximately two million over 2002 levels ( CIRCLE), while in 2004, young adults increased their turnout by 4.3 million over 2000 levels. (U.S. Census Bureau) Indeed, the number of 18-29 year old voters in 2004 (20 million) rivaled the over-65 vote (23 million). (U.S. Census Bureau)

Young voters' 2006 turnout in high-profile states was even more striking. In areas where campaigns targeted young voters, the growth in turnout was strong - larger than the margin of victory in several races. Panelist Lon Seidman, 2006 campaign manager for Joe Courtney for Congress in Connecticut's 2nd District, highlighted how youth turnout in that race tipped the election to now- Congressman Courtney. In Montana, Jon Tester defeated Conrad Burns by 3,562 votes - with youth turnout up by 39,106 votes. In Virginia, Jim Webb beat George Allen by 9,329 votes - with youth turnout up 110,453. (YVS)

"Targeting of young voters is a key reason why Democrats have a majority in the U.S. Senate today," said panelist Celinda Lake, President of Lake Research Partners, a Democratic polling firm. "Young voters made a major difference in key victories in Montana and Virginia - races that helped determine Senate control. In 2008, it's crucial that our party reach out to young voters at the national and local level. We know what tactics work and can mobilize this cohort effectively in 2008."

Republican pollster Brian Nienaber, Vice President at The Tarrance Group, noted that the GOP must re- engage this electorate, both to win in the short term and to build the party in for the future. "Young GOP voters are as supportive of the party as base voters in any other age cohort," said Nienaber. "For GOP campaigns, the efforts spent reaching these voters will provide valuable support on Election Day. On key issues like terrorism, taxes, and moral values, these voters believe that the GOP is the party best suited to lead on these issues. As a party, our outreach to these voters should be an important part of our efforts in the 2008 elections."

While in past midterm elections most political campaigns devoted few or shallow resources to young voters, in 2006 several implemented strategic youth campaigns. Panelists Seidman, Sarah Simmons from Arnold Schwarzenegger's 2006 re- election campaign, and Alex Cutler from the Minnesota Democrats' 2006 Youth Coordinated Campaign discussed tactics used to successfully mobilize young voters in 2006, including:

* Include young voters in traditional outreach: door- knocking, phone calls, and direct mail.
* Talk about issues in a relevant way. Health care, education, job creation, Iraq, the environment, and taxes are all key issues for young voters, but make sure to make the issues relevant.
* Spend time with voters. Do events on campus, attend happy hours or picnics, and talk to these voters about issues that matter. Listen to and answer questions - don't just make a speech.
* Build and update your lists. Register voters or coordinate with a group to do so. Designate precinct captains to update movers' information and identify supporters. Track the information you collect and follow-up to remind everyone to vote.
* Voter registration works. The amount of energy and money it takes to produce new votes from young voters is well worth it.
* New media is a fantastic tool, but don't use it as a crutch. Use the Internet to recruit for events, mobilize volunteers, educate voters, and to build your lists. But make sure to get out to colleges and communities and talk to voters. A little personal contact will go a long way.
* Utilize the energy and volunteer power of young adults to mobilize their friends, fellow students, and co-workers. But also make sure staff is spending time to train and coordinate volunteers.
* Allocate resources. Two or three staff could mobilize a massive statewide youth campaign; one staffer or a half a staff person's time can do a significant amount on the district-level.

Looking to 2008, the panelists today made clear that both Democrats and Republicans can and must mobilize young voters to win. In tight races, of which there will be plenty in 2008, the sheer size and increasingly propensity to vote of the Millennial Generation can make the difference on Election Day - by 2008, there will be approximately 44 million 18-29 year old citizens, according to U.S. Census Bureau projections. Down the road, today's young voters are tomorrow's base voters - in their teens and twenties, young adults are still feeling out their political allegiances and are more persuadable than older voters. Winning young voters now means having loyal voters for life and, as political parties craft their 2008 strategies, young voter outreach can and should play a significant role.

Source: Pew