The Failure

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Voter Turnout
The Failure Success of Voting Campaigns
Lauren Buckle Max Scheiner Julianne Walsh
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MTV ATTEMPTS TO INCREASE 18-30 YEAR OLD VOTER
TURNOUT

• ROCK THE VOTE
• VOTE OR DIE!
• CHOOSE OR LOSE

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• Non-profit, non-partisan organization, founded
  in 1990 by MTV
• Engages youth in the political process by
  incorporating the entertainment community and
  youth culture into its activities
• From actors to musicians, comedians to athletes,
  Rock the Vote harnesses cutting-edge trends and
  pop culture to make political participation cool
• Goal is to increase youth voter turnout
• Coordinates voter registration drives,
  get-out-the-vote events and voter education
  efforts
• Ultimately to ensure that the youth take
  advantage of their right to vote

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Some Rock the Vote Ads

• 1990-Madonna
• P-Diddy
• Suffragettes

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ROCK THE VOTE IS INSHAMBLES

• Whats wrong?
• 700,000 in debt
• Staff cut from 20 people in 1994 to 2 people
  today
• Has not had a chief operating officer since the
  last presidential election

• Why?
• Overspend during non-election years
• The groups board is dominated by music industry
  executives who use the program to promote their
  artists
• Major Problem Support politicians who ignore
  needs and desires of American people

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VOTE OR DIE!

• Campaign message of Citizen Change, a political
  service group founded by P. Diddy
• Aims to young people by educating them about the
  power of their vote
• In 2004, stated aim was to get young people to
  vote
• Critics alleged the ultimate aim was to
  get-out-the-vote against incumbent Georg W. Bush
• Message is promoted on T-shirts and other things

P-Diddy
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VOTE OR DIE!RECEIVES MANY CRITICISMS
P-Diddy on South Park
Paris Hilton

• Criticized by television shows such as South Park
  and the Daily Show
• Two major proponents of the campaign Paris Hilton
  and Ludacris did not register to vote in the 2004
  election

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CHOOSE OR LOSE

• Mobilizes young voters to get registered, learn
  about candidates and vote
• Originally launched in 1992
• Aim to get 20 million young adults aged 18 to 30
  to vote in the 2004 election
• Dubbed 20 Million Loud
• Adopted as an achievable goal
• Rock the Vote was an online partner in the
  campaign
• Conduct a series of high-profile, high-impact
  events on-air, online, and off-air kicking off
  with two MTV News specials

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CHOOSE OR LOSE WAS A SUCCESS

• Voters turned out in greater numbers than ever,
  making their voices heard and playing a major
  part in this year's surging overall turnout.
• According to exit-poll information provided by
  CIRCLE research, 21 million voters under the age
  of 30 went to the polls, well over the goal of
  "20 Million Loud"
• Voter turnout up 22 from 2000
• Made strong showings in battleground states like
  Ohio and Florida 1 in every 5 voters was under
  the age of 30

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Summary

• Overall, these campaigns may have caused a
  marginal increase in voter turnout
• However, despite the efforts of these campaigns,
  voter turnout in the 18-30 year old range has
  remained lower than desirable
• Only time will tell, but it is likely that voter
  turnout will continue to be low

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E-Voting

• E-voting is short for electronic voting and
  refers to the option of using electronic means to
  vote in referendums and elections.
• E-voting has to be as free, secret, reliable and
  secure as voting systems that do not involve the
  use of electronic means.
• http//focus.at.org/e-voting

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• Strategic voters enter their state and voting
• preference
• They are then told whether they are voting in a
  swing state, where the race is close, or a secure
  state, where wide margins of victory are
  predicted
• Voters who register with VotePair will be paired
  with another participant via email.
• Example a swing state voter whose first choice
  is Nader, Cobb or Badnarik and a secure state
  voter whose first choice is Kerry can communicate
  with each other about strategic voting in the
  upcoming election.
• Pairing will facilitate dialogue and provide an
  opportunity for partners to make sure that their
  pairing partner is pledging in good faith.

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Registration Changes

• In an effort to increase voter participation in
  the Garden State, the American Civil Liberties
  Union of New Jersey and other high-profile voter
  rights' advocates, during a public forum today,
  will urge New Jersey to reform state election law
  to allow residents in future elections to
  register to vote up to and including Election
  Day. This proposal, if adopted, would replacing
  the current system under which anyone who
  registers less than 21 days before an election is
  barred from voting until the following election.
  Six of the seven states that allow Election Day
  registration have the nation's highest voter
  turnout rates.

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More from previous slide

• Speakers from the Eagleton New Jersey Project,
  New Jersey Policy Perspective, Rutgers
  Constitutional Litigation Clinic and Demos will
  discuss how Election Day registration -- also
  known as same day registration -- works in other
  states and how to bring it to New Jersey.
• "Election Day registration is one of the most
  effective things we can do to increase voter
  participation," said Deborah Jacobs, Executive
  Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of
  New Jersey, a co-sponsor of the "Help NJ Vote"
  forum.

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What percentage of people vote

• -Matures. Born before 1946 (49 million).
• -Baby Boomers. Born between 1946-1964 (71
  million).
• -Generation X. Born between 1964-1976 (44
  million).
• -DotNet. Born after 1976 (40 million).