College voters have the potential to play a decisive role in November's presidential election. The question is, will they?
The college vote is one of several voting blocs that, if mobilized, could make a difference in 17 swing states, where the race could boil down to one or two percentage points, political science Lecturer Michael Goldman said.
Political activity is up this year among youth across the spectrum. A poll conducted by Harvard's Institute of Politics (IOP) shows unprecedented interest among college students.
Fifty-seven percent of college students said that they would definitely be voting in this election, and an additional 17 percent said that there was a 50 percent chance they would vote.
Registration, especially for college voters, is also up dramatically this year. But registration only matters if those voters turn out. "Even if college students are registered, will they vote?" Goldman asked.
In 2000, only 36.1 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 voted in the presidential election. The number has declined substantially since an all-time high of over 50 per cent in 1972.
Several factors may hinder students from voting, including the widely used absentee ballot system and the difficulty of transportation to polling places for many college students.
"[Voting registration commissions] don't make it easy for students to participate," Goldman said. "Politicians know this," he said, which is why few campaign on youth issues.
Government legislation aiming to involve more students in the political process has met only partial success.
The Higher Education Act of 1998 stipulates that all schools receiving government funding must distribute voter registration forms to all students and make such paperwork widely available.
But a recent IOP study found that only 16.9 percent of schools surveyed (at a 30 percent response rate) complied with the letter of the standards and 65.5 percent have programs incorporating the spirit or letter of the law.
And students' voting intentions are often not taken into account by the most widely-publicized and influential polls since most polls only poll people who have voted in past presidential election.
Polling firms also call land lines, whereas many college students have cell phones, according to Grant Woodward, president of College Democrats of America.
"I believe that the student vote is the stealth voting demographic of this election," Woodward said. "We are largely left out of national polls."
But college voters have demonstrated unusual enthusiasm and initiative during this political season.
"We've been contacted en masse by students who are so excited and enthusiastic and passionate about this election," said Hayley Tozeski, Brandeis senior and Massachusetts Youth Outreach coordinator for the Kerry campaign.
Tozeski said that nearly every college and university nationwide had either a chapter of Student Democrats or a chapter of Students for Kerry.
Students not only contribute potential votes themselves, but constitute an important element of the grassroots movement, Tozeski said.
Many Massachusetts students who support Kerry have canvassed on a regular basis in New Hampshire and Maine. Others students, part of the "Kerry's Travelers" program, take weekend trips to canvass in swing states such as Iowa, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida.
Students also volunteer their time to call swing state voters and encourage them to register, Tozeski said. Harvard student volunteers recently registered 10,000 Arizona voters.
Alison Aikele, communications director for the Youth Republican National Committee, is also optimistic that students will vote in greater numbers. In light of the Florida recount, "students now realize that every vote really does matter - even theirs," she said.
Aikele also said that Bush's message struck a chord with many college students, whose concerns focus on national security and the economy, she said. "Students will turn out to vote because they are excited about the president. When students are passionate about their leader, they will turn out to support him and reward him with their vote in November."
But most youth voters will likely lean towards the Democratic ticket. "It's important to realize nationally four out of five students ages 18 to 22 vote Democrat," Tozeski said.
College students have also continued to campaign for independent candidate Ralph Nader, despite accusations that he cost former Democratic nominee Al Gore the 2000 election.
Though a Nader victory is a near impossibility and many Democrats fear a repeat spoiler effect, Nader campaign officials have goals that stretch beyond the 2000 election, such as breaking the deadlock of two-party politics.
Ben Marcus, the national campus coordinator for Nader campaign, said many students' true political leanings do not align with those of the candidates. "Neither of the two parties make sense for them, and they want to vote for someone they truly believe in."
"We truly believe in building a movement beyond Nov. 7 - movements take time to build," Marcus said. "But if you lose the energy and throw in the towel, you're not actually going to make a change. You have to stand your ground."
Online nonprofit organizations, such as MTV's Rock the Vote and Punkvoter.com, have also entered the picture as forces intended to popularize civic participation. Rock the Vote reports having registered over a million new voters through its online and street-based recruitment campaign.
"Having had unprecedented success with our voter registration campaign, Rock the Vote will now focus on its get-out-the-vote efforts to turn out these young voters on Election Day," President of Rock the Vote Jehmu Greene said in a press release.
"We will continue to call on the candidates to address the issues that this generation faces because it is the issues that will pull young people to the polls."
Campaigning among college students for independent candidate Ralph Nader has also continued, despite the fact that many allege Nader cost Al Gore the election in 2000. Though Nader has little likelihood of winning, and many worry that he may again influence the eventual breakdown of the close election, Nader campaign officials have goals that stretch beyond the 2000 election.
Ben Marcus, the National Campus Coordinator for the Nader Campaign, said that many students' true political leanings do not align with those of the candidates. "Niether of the two parties make sense for them, and they want to vote for someone they truly believe in."
Marcus said that the Nader campaign hopes to eventually break the deadlock of two-party polictics. "We truly believe in building a movement beyond Nov 7th-movements take time to build," Marcus said. "But if you lose the energy and throw in the towel, you're not actually going to make a change. You have to stand your ground."
Third-party online nonprofit organizations, such as MTV's Rock the Vote and punkvoter.com, have also entered the picture as forces intended to popularize civic participation. In its online and street-based recruitment campaign, Rock the Vote, reports having registered over 1 million new voters.
"Having had unprecedented success with our voter registration campaign, Rock the Vote will now focus on its get-out-the-vote efforts to turn out these young voters on Election Day," said Jehmu Greene, President of Rock the Vote, in a press release. "We will continue to call on the candidates to address the issues that this generation faces because it is the issues that will pull young people to the polls."
In spite of the political activity and registration efforts, initiative on the part of students that will decide the extent of the voter turnout and subsequent influence.
Many youth voters, however, will likely be leaning more towards the democratic ticket. "It's important to realize nationally 4 out of 5 students ages 18-22 vote Democrat," said Hayley Tozeski, Massachusetts youth outreach director for the Kerry campaign. "It's not possible to do a voter registration that doesn't end up holding people who will vote democrat-and in Mass. the numbers are much higher."<$>
@jump:see VOTING, page X<$>
@conthead:Online nonprofits also influential in voter registration<$>
@contjump:VOTING<$>
@contpage:Continued from page XX<$>
@pullquote:<$>
@quotename:<$>
@quotetitle:<$>
Edits:kwb, sld
"We will continue to call on the candidates to address the issues that this generation faces because it is the issues that will pull young people to the polls."
Campaigning among college students for independent candidate Ralph Nader has also continued, despite the fact that many allege Nader cost Al Gore the election in 2000. Though Nader has little likelihood of winning, and many worry that he may again influence the eventual breakdown of the close election, Nader campaign officials have goals that stretch beyond the 2000 election.
Ben Marcus, the National Campus Coordinator for the Nader Campaign, said that many students' true political leanings do not align with those of the candidates. "Niether of the two parties make sense for them, and they want to vote for someone they truly believe in."
Marcus said that the Nader campaign hopes to eventually break the deadlock of two-party polictics. "We truly believe in building a movement beyond Nov 7th--movements take time to build," Marcus said. "But if you lose the energy and throw in the towel, you're not actually going to make a change. You have to stand your ground."
Third-party online nonprofit organizations, such as MTV's Rock the Vote and punkvoter.com, have also entered the picture as forces intended to popularize civic participation. In its online and street-based recruitment campaign, Rock the Vote, reports having registered over 1 million new voters.
"Having had unprecedented success with our voter registration campaign, Rock the Vote will now focus on its get-out-the-vote efforts to turn out these young voters on Election Day," said Jehmu Greene, President of Rock the Vote, in a press release. "We will continue to call on the candidates to address the issues that this generation faces because it is the issues that will pull young people to the polls."
In spite of the political activity and registration efforts, initiative on the part of students that will decide the extent of the voter turnout and subsequent influence.
Many youth voters, however, will likely be leaning more towards the democratic ticket. "It's important to realize nationally 4 out of 5 students ages 18-22 vote Democrat," said Hayley Tozeski, Massachusetts youth outreach director for the Kerry campaign. "It's not possible to do a voter registration that doesn't end up holding people who will vote democrat-and in Mass. the numbers are much higher."
