Youth Vote up to 16% in California Presidential Primary—State’s Young Democrats Energized and Already Working on June Election

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Christine Smith
Northern California Vice President
California College Democrats

It’s an exciting year to be a Young Democrat in California. While we know have been the margin of victory for many crucial races it’s gratifying to finally be treated as such. Presidential candidates have made the trips to our campuses and conventions and spent money fighting for the youth vote.

We are not apathetic. We are not “just volunteers”, and we are not “the future generation”. We are here to make change for our world. We are here to work hard on campaigns throughout the country, as students from California bundled up to knock on doors in Iowa and New Hampshire, as we make the world realize that young voters are the present of the Democratic Party. I finished finals and stopped off in my hometown for fifteen precious hours of Christmas holidays before getting on a plane to Des Moines, Iowa.

I’m a California girl who had a White Christmas in Indianola, Iowa and I am not alone in that experience. Dozens of Young Democrats came out to support candidates in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, living on floors in supporter housing subsisting on pizza and caffeine, without complaint. We young voters give what we can and everything we can for what we believe in and I’m beyond thrilled that this effort has been finally been seen and utilized for the power of making change.

In Iowa, Senator Obama treated young people as voters, not just campaign volunteers. His strategy paid off. In Iowa more than 65,000 people under the age of 30 (more than triple 2004) showed up to vote for a change. With both the Obama and Clinton campaigns targeting young voters, in New Hampshire, youth turnout increased by an astounding 43%. In both of these contests it was crystal clear when campaigns invest the resources to target young voters it pays off. For the first time in our lifetimes we are not simply the ones making that call and knocking on that door, we are the ones answering it and opening the door. All of the Democratic presidential campaigns are realizing that the youth vote is truly going to be the margin of victory in 2008.