Luring the Youth VotePackaging Politics to The Youth

Terrica Mitchell

Supervising Professor: Laura Van Assendelft

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Chapter 1: Introduction

The Problem

The youth vote accounts for at least 80 electoral votes.1 The implications are that the

youth vote can be a determining factor within elections. This phenomenon can be seen in the

1992 and 2008 presidential elections. There is a significant leap in the youth vote during these

elections that helped propel the winning candidate to the presidency. Although the youth vote

has the ability to affect elections there has been a significant decline in voter turnout for this age

group. “Overall, America’s youngest voters have moved towards less engagement over time, as

18- through 24-year-olds’ voting rates dropped from 50.9 percent in 1964 to 38.0 percent in

2012.”2 This is trend can be seen throughout many other developed democracies, and the U.S.

is no exception this.

Moreover, youth voter turnout is inconsistent and hard to predict. “One election cycle

it’s up, and then the next it’s down. Meanwhile other age groups are pretty consistent in their

voting turnout."3 In order to find explanations for the inconsistent nature, there are various

forces acting in each election that must be taken into account. “Many factors likely contribute to

this difference in youth turnout rate: a relative lack of media attention, a scarcity of competitive

1"CIRCLE » At Least 80 Electoral Votes Depended on Youth." CIRCLE RSS. November 7, 2012|.Accessed September 15, 2014. http://www.civicyouth.org/at-least-80-electoral-votes-depended-on-youth/.2File, Tom. "Young-Adult Voting: An Analysis of Presidential Elections, 1964–2012." www.census.gov. U.S. Census Bureau, Apr. 2014. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.3Mcdaniel, Richard. "YouthVote.org."YouthVoteorg. August 17, 2014. Accessed September 21, 2014. http://youthvote.org/2014/08/why-the-youth-vote-is-inconsistent/.

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races, and less voter outreach."4 The lack of efforts to mobilize youth voters is most likely

specific to the youth vote and its trend low turnout and inconsistency.

Literature Review

A Relationship of Mutual Neglect

The implications of the decline in the youth vote are not only a lack of political

engagement by the youth but also a lack of concern from politicians and political parties.

In other words, the youth are not being asked to vote. As conceptualized by Martin Wattenberg,

the relationship between politicians and young adults is one of “mutual neglect”.5 Thus,

mobilization is a significant piece to the puzzle. Mobilization is broadly defined as the processes

in which actors (political parties, politicians, and organizations) focus on galvanizing groups of

people to politically participate.6 Mobilization has been viewed as a strong indicator of political

participation. Research suggests that low voter turnout is due to changes in mobilization efforts

by agencies and the strategic plans of political parties that do not take into account various

groups of people.7 The role of political actors in this relationship of neglect is critical to

understanding solutions to the problem and should be examined.

Theories of Voter Participation

There are various outlets for citizens to politically participate in established democracies.

For instance citizens can express their views by means of social media, participating in

4 Kawashima-Ginsberg, Kei. "CIRCLE » 2014 Midterms: “Why (Some) Registered Youth Don't Vote." CIRCLE RSS. June 25, 2014. Accessed November 4, 2014. http://www.civicyouth.org/2014-midterms-why-some-registered-youth-dont-vote/.5Wattenberg, Martin P. Introduction. Is Voting for Young People?, 1-2|. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2007.6 Rosenstone, Steven J., and John Mark. Hansen. Mobilization, Participation, and Democracy in America. New York: Macmillan Pub. Co, 1993.211-212|. Print.7Rosenstone, Steven J., and John Mark. Hansen. Mobilization, Participation, and Democracy in America.

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demonstrations, protests, boycotts, signing petitions, writing letters to political leaders and so

forth. All political participation has a significant function in the political process however, the

simplest form of participation is voting. Why people vote is just as significant as the act of

voting, and is a central question many theorists consider. Three theories encompass the dominant

explanations in this category of thought: rational choice, socialization, psychological and

mobilization.

Rational Choice Theories

“Casting a vote… may be primarily expressive in once situation for one person but primarily

instrumental for another situation or person”8

As conceptualized by Heywood, “rational choice theory is an approach to voter

participation based on the assumption that individuals are rationally self-interested actors”9 The

idea is that there is a motivation behind an individual voting , for some the gain is materially and

for others it is fulfilling a civic duty. “The distinction between engagement driven by interests

versus duty is need to be seen as either/or.”10 This approach implies that at the basic level there

is a reason why people vote and that there are private and social gain in the act of voting itself

that provides people the incentive to vote. Throughout rational choice theories there are

consistent factors of competitiveness, how many parties are emerging, and electoral

proportionality used to explain voter turnout.

According to rational choice theories if voters think their vote will make a difference then

the voter turnout will be high and vice versa. However, this theory leaves out the larger picture

8Campbell, David E. Why We Vote: How Schools and Communities Shape Our Civic Life. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 2006. 14. Print.9Heywood, Andrew, Politics. Houndmills, Basingstoke, England: Macmillan, 2002. 430. Print.10Campbell, Ibid. 3

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of how the community in which one is socialized explains motivations and reasons why people

vote. 11 Moreover, these theories cannot seem to account for the lack of youth voting in America.

It has been argued that competition has affected youth voters, however, recent research provided

by CIRCLE (the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement)

which conducts research on the civic and political engagement of young Americans found that

this not the case. There are no significant differences in youth voting in competitive mid-term

elections with hotly contested issues then in midterm elections that do not. “Young people

respond to the contact from close elections” not necessarily the competitiveness.12 The

limitations to the rational choice theory does not clearly answer why youth are voting at low

levels.

Socialization Theories

“Train up a child in the way he should go—so goes the proverb—and when he is old he will not

depart from it.”13

Socialization theories state that what is learned during childhood in regards to voting is a

significant indicator to how we vote and politically participate when we are older. “The

assumption of what we do now (as adults) depends on what we did then (as youth) guides

educators, marketers, and parents alike.”14 Socialization theorists believe that agents such as

family, school, media, and religion are agents in whom children learn behaviors and tendencies.

It should be noted that the process of socialization is complex and all of the agents come together

11Campbell, Ibid. 312"CIRCLE » 2014 Midterms: “The Effects of Competitiveness and Ballot Measures on Youth Turnout." CIRCLE RSS. THE CENTER FOR INFORMATION & RESEARCH ON CIVIC LEARNING AND ENGAGEMENT, 2014|.Web. 10 Nov. 2014. <http://www.civicyouth.org/2014-midterms-the-effects-of-competitiveness-and-ballot-measures-on-youth-turnout/>.13Campbell, David. Why We Vote How Schools and Communities Shape Our Civic Life.13114Campbell, David. Ibid. 132

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in influencing a child's political behavior. Moreover, with the family being the most significant

socialization agent, political socialization is largely understood as the way children adopt the

political attitudes and behaviors of their parents.

However, it has more recently been argued that the messages of different socialization

agents can be contradictory to one another, therefore political attitudes and voting behaviors will

probably not remain consistent from one generation to the next.15 The complex relationship

between agents may account for the changes of voter turnout throughout generations but this

relationship has not yet been concretely proven. Socialization theories shed light on how children

are politically developed but cannot fully answer why they vote or the lack of voting.

Psychological Theories

"The core idea in this approach is that to understand why people vote as they do, we must

understand what goes on in their mind."16

Psychological theories state that people vote based off of individual attitudes and

perceptions. The overall position of an individual in regards to politics is significant to

understanding voter turnout. There is an implication that all people use their minds in a similar

fashion to make a decision to vote or to abstain from voting.17 These theories look at factors

such as: party identification, partisan dealignment, political interest, and alienation to explain

turnout. It should be noted there is a broad range of other factors that are considered, however,

the ones listed above are often explored within this school of thought.

15 Torney-Purta, Judith. "Comparative Perspectives On Political Socialization And Civic Education. Comparative Education Review 44, no. 1 (2001): 88-89. Accessed November 1, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/1189228?uid=3739704&uid=2&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21105306263143.u16 Rosema, Martin. "The Sincere Vote: A Psychological Study of Voting." Academia.edu. N.p., 2004. Web. 4 Nov. 2014. <http://www.academia.edu/230492/The_Sincere_Vote_A_Psychological_Study_of_Voting>.17 Campbell, Angus. The American Voter. New York: Wiley, 1960. 90. Print.

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Broadly defined, partisanship is identification with one of the major political parties of

either Democrat or Republican (in the context of America). Party identification is significant

because it was found to influence the decision to vote and who to vote for. Party loyalty -- long

term political identification with a party was thought to guide the amount of political engagement

throughout a person's adult life.18 People with a strong party identification are more likely to

vote. Although party identification is seen as a factor that is lasting and rarely changes, partisan

dealignment happens when party loyalties deteriorate. Once there is a lack of party identification

or loyalty to party voting behaviors tend to change. Some effects of partisan dealignment are

swing voting and an increase in nonvoting overall.

People who do not care about politics are less likely to vote than those who do care. A

person is more likely to vote when they are interested in politics and display this interest by

following politics through various media forms (newspapers, television, social media) and

discussing it in social circles. This concept could add insight to the trend of American youth

moving toward less political engagement because of the fact that the youth do not follow politics

at a substantial rate. “Political apathy among young adults stem from being tuned out from

political news."19 Moreover, some people have bad feelings/perceptions towards politics in

general --alienation. People who dislike or distrust politicians are less likely to vote, they are

referred to as alienated citizens.20 These theories focus on the individual voters perceptions and

18 Campbell, Angus. Ibid. 12119 Wattenberg, Martin P. Is Voting for Young People?, 3.20 Russell A., Fieldhouse, E., Purdham, K., and Kaira, V. (2002) Voter Engagement and Young People, UK Electoral Commission. 2002: 85-86 Accessed November 1, 2014 . <http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/electoral_commission_pdf_file/0019/16093/youngpplvoting_6597-6188__E__N__S__W__.pdf>

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attitudes, however they fail to explain how players outside of the individual impact voting

behavior.

Mobilization Theories

“People participate in electoral politics because someone encourages them to take part”21.

Mobilization theories look at agents such as political parties, campaigns, candidates and

social networks to explain why people vote. Instead of focusing on how we are socialized as

people or social structures, mobilization theories look at the efforts made by political actors to

get people to vote. Turnout decline can be somewhat attributed to the lack of effort made by

mobilizing agents and more specifically, political parties’ strategic decisions to not target certain

populations of people.22 When mobilization agencies do not target certain groups of people, they

are less likely to vote. This idea can be applied to the youth vote in America; campaigns are not

targeting this group therefore youth voters have a historically low voter turnout.

A major contribution to the thought of mobilization is the theory of social capital that

states being a part of social organizations such as churches, community groups, and unions can

affect whether or not a person will vote. Social organizations promote values such as trust and

reciprocity which are values that promote political action and one way to take this action is

through voting.23 In Bowling Alone it is argued that declining social capital is what has caused

voter turnout to decline in America. This argument has been criticized by other scholars for not

21 Rosenstone, Steven J., and John Mark. Hansen. Mobilization, Participation, and Democracy in America. 16122 Rosenstone, Steven J., and John Mark. Hansen. Ibid. 211-21223 Putnam, Robert D. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000. 89-90|. Print.

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being validated. Also, this argument only focuses on traditional mobilizing agents and does not

account for changes or new ways of mobilizing that should considered as transformations of how

citizens are brought together. 24 The connection between youth voting and social capital is

somewhat groundless.

This paper will look at the youth voter from a perspective other than a disengaged citizen

but will take into account the efforts of campaigns and groups to mobilize youth voters. First, an

outline of the historical background attempts to explain the contentions of youth voter turnout.

Chapter 3 will examine the evolution of campaigning and analyze the actions of official

presidential campaigns and the campaigning of political engagement organizations through case

studies of presidential elections. The elections that will be focused on are 1992 and 2008. These

years were chosen because they had highest participation of youth voter. Due to these elections

having high youth voter turnout, it is hypothesized that a strong mobilization effort was made by

campaigns and organizations to get young people voting. In respect to the elections, written

accounts of the election and scholarly journals will be used to analyze the effectiveness of

mobilization strategies that were directly related to targeting the youth the youth.

Chapter 2: Background of the Youth Vote

“Old enough to fight, old enough to vote.”

A young voter is defined as eighteen to twenty-four year olds, but this has not always

been the case. Before 1970, the minimum voting age in federal elections was 21 and the voting

age for local and state elections depended on the state in which you lived. During World War II

24 Norris, Pippa. Democratic Phoenix: Reinventing Political Activism. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP, 2002. 187|. Print.

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many young men who went to fight proposed that the voting age should be lowered to 18.25

Public support for lowering the voting age had already been voiced but this idea became even

more so popular in once the draft for the war in Vietnam was instituted by Nixon. The draft was

going to affect young men ages 18-21 and they felt that they should have a say in the country

that was sending them away to fight. In 1970 president Nixon signed the Voting Rights Act of

1970’s that lowered the minimum age of voting in all elections to 18. Many states were against

this, which led to a Supreme Court case to challenge the act.

In the 1970 case Oregon v. Mitchell, the Supreme Court ruled that Congress had the right

to regulate the minimum age in federal elections, but not at the state and local level.26 Although

this appeared to be a win for both sides, it actually would create more work on states to create

separate provisions for young voters. “The Supreme Court's decision on the voting age

provisions in had caused concern in the States about the costs and administrative

cumbersomeness of maintaining dual voting rolls.”27 As a result of these issues, the 26th

amendment established that the minimum voting age in local, state and federal elections to be 18

was passed.

Use of the Right to Vote

In the 1972 election, after the minimum age to vote was changed, youth voters voted at

55%. Even with this high turnout, young voters had a lower turnout rate than those 25 and older,

25 Neale, Thomas, The Eighteen Year Old Vote the Twenty-sixth Amendment and Subsequent Voting Rates of Newly Enfranchised Age Groups. Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, 1983. 1 Web. 10 Nov. 2014|. <http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs8805/m1/1/high_res_d/83-103GOV_1983May20.pdf>26 Staff, History.com. "The 26th Amendment." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2010. Web. 10 Nov. 2014. <http://www.history.com/topics/the-26th-amendment>27 Neale, Thomas H. Ibid.12

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who had a 70% turnout rate.28 In this election, George McGovern thought that young voters

would propel him to win the candidacy against Nixon who was an incumbent. This in some

respect set the tone for the relationship between youth voters and engagement. The “mutual

neglect” mentioned earlier can be traced to this election.

Turnout of young voters continued to plummet reached 39.9 % in the 1988 presidential

election then a surge of participation happened in the 1992 that increased it to 48.6%. Figure 2.1

illustrates the long term decline and inconsistent nature of youth voter turnout in presidential

elections. Although in the 2000, 2004, and 2008 presidential elections youth voter turnout

increased but the 2012 election it declined. In the 2012 presidential election 41.2 % of youth

voted compared to 48.5% in 2008.

Figure 2.129

28 CIRCLE » "Fact Sheet." CIRCLE. Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <http://www.civicyouth.org/PopUps/FactSheets/FS_Youth%20turnout1972_2002.pdf>.29 The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement. Youth & Adult Voter Turnout From 1972-2002. Available at <http://www.civicyouth.org/PopUps/FactSheets/FS_Youth%20turnout1972_2002.pdf>

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Why Aren’t Youth Voting?

There are various reasons why the youth are not voting but it should be noted that these

reasons do not only apply to youth voters. The registration process is complex and overwhelming

for many people. “The most significant disparity in why youth and older adults did not register to

vote had to do with difficulties in the process. Nearly a quarter of young people (24%) said that

they did not know where or how to register, or that they did not meet the registration deadline”.30

In order to register to vote you must provide a permanent address, which determines where you

must vote. Many young people are mobile, in college, or have no established residence. Due to

this many young people have to use absentee ballots, which take more effort and have to be

mailed back by a certain date. “The findings indicate that restrictions on when, how, and who

can register citizens to vote do not affect older voters, but they may indeed suppress registration

rates for young people.”31

Also, many youth people are not interested in voting. “By far, the most common reason

given by both youth and older adults (age 30+) for not registering to vote in 2010 was a lack of

interest.”32 The apathetic attitude towards politics can be linked to a generational change in

technology and communication. “Young adults have not consciously decided to avoid political

news in recent years; rather, having been socialized in a markedly different communications

environment, they just have not picked up the same media habits that their parents and

grandparents did.”33 For instance, older generations read daily newspapers that kept them

30 CIRCLE » 2014 Midterms: “Why Half of Youth Don’t Register to Vote." CIRCLE RSS. The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement. n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2014. <http://www.civicyouth.org/2014-midterms-why-half-of-youth-dont-register-to-vote/>.31 CIRCLE » 2014 Midterms: “How Youth Register to Vote." CIRCLE RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2014. <http://www.civicyouth.org/2014-midterms-how-youth-register-to-vote/>.32 CIRCLE » 2014 Midterms: “How Youth Register to Vote."33 Wattenberg, Martin P. Is Voting for Young People?. 3

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politically informed and engaged; now television news and increasingly social media is what

informs the youth. Research has shown that the best way to be informed about political matters

is through the media of newspapers.34 Therefore, the media that youth voters are using is not as

politically informative in comparison to older generations.

Another significant factor that contributes to the lack of interest stems from not being

targeted by campaigns and candidates to vote, which is what this paper focuses on. Young

people are ignored due to having a history of non-voting. “Elected officials respond to the

preferences of voters, not non-voters. As rational actors, candidates and parties tend to ignore the

young and a vicious cycle ensues.”35 Campaigns seem unwilling to focus on a group that lacks a

voting history; they tend to neglect the youth instead of trying to break through barriers. This

could be attributed to past attempts that have not been successful or the difficulties of reaching

youth voters. However by doing this, political parties miss out on a demographic of the voting

population and cause young people to feel as if they do not matter and voting is not for them.

What is the Significance?

Many people have found it an expected trend now that youth voters are not voting.

Young voters voting at lower rates than is expected is a problem in a democratic system.

America is a democracy and the democratic system is supposed to represent the people. If youth

voters do not vote their interests and views may not be heard or addressed by elected officials.

“By passing up opportunities to vote, young adults are ceding important decisions to people who

have different values and interests.”36 Furthermore, in a democracy it is important for as many

34 Graber, Doris. Mass Media and American Politics. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly press, 2002.35 Iyengar, Shanto. Technology and Politics: Incentives for Youth Participation. Political Communications Lab. Stanford University, 18| Nov. 2003. Web. 22 Nov. 2014. <http://pcl.stanford.edu/common/docs/research/iyengar/2003/youthincentives.pdf>.36 Wattenberg, Martin P. Is Voting for Young People?. 5

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people as possible to vote to ensure that democracy is working at its full potential. It should also

be taken into consideration that the millennial generation (people born between 1979 and 2000),

will make up 40 percent of the electorate.37 Today’s youth voters at some point will be the

people who drive politics and the direction the nation goes, therefore it is important for them to

be involved now.

Chapter 3: Packaging Politics

Politics in itself is similar to a product and it is up to political parties, candidates, and

other political actors to sell it to the consumers--the voters. In order to sell politics it must be

appealing, like any other product it must be packaged well. This section will examine the role of

campaigns in selling politics. Analyzing how campaigns have developed and looking at distinct

aspects of campaigns leads into discussion how campaigns can impact the political mobilization

of youth voters, specifically in the 1992 and 2008 presidential elections

The Development of Campaigns

A campaign is the time frame before people make a political choice.38

Addressing voters during this time frame is becoming more and more important in elections. In

comparison to the first presidential election, candidates have gone about campaigning

differently. In the past elections were focused on political parties with candidates in the

background, more like symbolic representations of the party’s ideology because candidates were

selected by the party not the people. Today candidate’s roles are more significant and influential

37 Madland, David and Ruy Teixeira. “New Progressive America: The Millennial Generation.“ Center for American Progress, 2009.38 Brady Henry, Richard Johnston, and John Sides. "The Study of Political Campaigns." George Washington University (n.d.): 2. 2006. Web. 24 Nov. 2014. <http://home.gwu.edu/~jsides/study.pd>.

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to the success of the campaign. The creation of the popular primary has caused the election to

focus more on the candidate. 39 Once people were able to vote for the presidential nominee it

pushed the role of the candidate to the center of the campaign.

Technology plays a significant role in pushing the candidate as the focus. For instance,

television is the main way people consume news today the medium in which campaigning is

done had to transform. Figure 3.1 illustrates that people learn the most about campaigns through

TV. Campaigns have to meet these demands of the voters. This good thing on one hand because

campaigns reach more people but there is pressure on the candidate to play a more active role in

appealing to the people voting therefore things such as personality and image now.40

Figure 3.141

Campaigning strategies have also succumbed to changing overtime. “Although the tactics that

presidential hopefuls used in the early days of our country's history are still relevant, those who

seek to be the Commander in Chief today must embrace a vast array of strategies that invite

39 Wayne, Stephen J. The Road to the White House: The Politics of Presidential Elections. Boston: Thompson, 2008. 314-316|. Print.40 American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series." PBS, n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2014. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/then-and-now/presidents/>.41PEW Research: Center For the People & the Press,” Cable Leads the Pack as Campaign News Source” Available at < http://www.people-press.org/2012/02/07/section-1-campaign-interest-and-news-sources/>

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constant exposure and accountability.”42 These new strategies focus on packaging politics as a

product for voters to buy into. Campaigns are becoming specialized to sell groups of people due

to the diversity of interests people have.

New technologies play an integral role in the changes of strategies. Presidential

candidates rely on the internet -- with official websites and social media accounts to constantly

be engaged with voters beyond television and radio.43 The popularity of social networks

(Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram) is allowing for people to stay informed on the

campaigns but also comment and act on what them as engaged citizens.

Measuring the Attentiveness of Campaigns

The role of campaigns is rarely addressed in the literature about the youth vote; low voter

turnout by this group is what is often focused on. The role of campaigns is often overlooked, but

why? It appears that in order to measure the attentiveness of a campaign is a more complex than

looking at numbers of how many youth voters actually voted in an election. “Measuring

campaign effort means attending to both time and money, as dollars and hours are spent are the

most fundamental indicators.”44 Therefore, in order to measure how efforts campaigns make

consideration of actions taken--ads, mobilization, conventions, debates, and appearance are more

complex to measure than statics and polls. Actions made by campaigns speak to various groups

and at times its harder to establish if an action was specifically targeted at one group or not. In

order to connect campaign actions directly to the youth vote three aspects of campaigns will be

focused on: policies, tactics used to win the vote, and the use of new mobilizing strategies to

42 "American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series." 43 Ibid 44 Brady, Henry, Richard Johnston, and John Sides. "The Study of Political Campaigns." 3

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connect to youth voters. This thesis will examine each aspect listed above in the 1992 and 2008

presidential elections.

In respect to policies, the stance candidates take on policies is important in determining

how people vote; especially youth voters since they historically are not significantly linked a

particular party. Some voters will make choices based on specific policy choices therefore

candidates will try to adjust their position on issues strategically to appeal to certain groups.45

Furthermore, if a candidate does not address issues that matter to youth voters then it can affect

the overall turnout. Research shows that historically other than the economy, issues such as the

environment, health (AIDS) and race relations are more of a concern to youth voters than older

generations. 46 What is important may change over time: therefore the policies that are focused

on may change each election, but the main focus is what the policies were and how they were

addressed or not addressed.

The ways that campaigns sell themselves to “get out the vote” will be examined. “Young

people who are contacted by an organization or a campaign are more likely to vote.”47 It has also

been found that if people register they are more likely to vote. “Young people who are registered

to vote turnout in high numbers, very close to the rate of older voters.”48 It will be examined if

campaigns used tactics focused on reaching young voters in this way. Along with campaigns

there are outside groups that are focused on pushing young people to the polls. Every election

year there is a spawning of organizations that are attempting to reach young voters and

45 Chapter 12: Voter Choice | CAMPAIGNS & ELECTIONS: Rules, Reality, Strategy, Choice: W. W. Norton Study Space, n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2014<http://www.wwnorton.com/college/polisci/campaignsandelections/ch/12/outline.aspx>46 Hugick, Larry, and Christine Gelhaus. "The Twenty Something Generation and the 1992 Election." Editorial. The Public Perspective, July/August 1992. Accessed February 6, 2014. http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/public-47 CIRCLE » "Youth Voting."48 CIRCLE » "Youth Voting."

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campaigning to get them engaged. They understand the potential power the youth voting block

has and focus on motivating this group to get involved. From organizations such as Rock the

Vote to Citizen Change and Young Democrats to Reverb are some of the many groups that have

formed to encourage the youth to vote. These organizations facilitate a large amount of the

mobilization that is done to get the youth engaged. Moreover, these organizations help

campaigns become aware of what are the most effective ways to attract young voters.

The use of new ways of connecting to youth voters will be examined. Methods

such as: internet, social media, email, smartphones, and television which are technological

conventions are often associated with the youth due to youth being high consumers of it. “They

are “digital natives”—the only generation for which these new technologies are not something

they’ve had to adapt to.”49 It is noted that in every election what is new or innovative may differ

therefore, methods in acknowledgement of the time of the election how and they were used will

be examined.

1992 Presidential Election: Bill Clinton vs. George H.W. Bush

The 1992 elections main candidates were President George H.W. Bush

(Republican incumbent) and Democrat Governor of Arkansas Bill Clinton. There was also

an independent candidate; Ross Perot had a strong presence in this election but the major

competitors were Clinton and Bush. Due to Bush being an incumbent it gave him a slight

advantage but not enough to win the Presidency for his second term. Part of this win can be

attributed to the high youth voter turnout that was in favor of Clinton. This brings the examining

of the three aspects listed earlier in regards to the 1992 presidential election.

49 PEW Research Center: Social Demographic Trends Project "Millennials in Adulthood."Pew Research Center, 7 Mar. 2014. Web. 29 Nov. 2014. <http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2014/03/07/millennials-in-adulthood/>.

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Policies

Economy--during this election the economy was at the center of the issues surrounding

the campaign due to America being pulled into a mild recession in 1990-1991 under Bush’s

administration. “The service sector--financial firms, banks, thrifts, and insurance companies, and

the white-collar workers employed by these companies were hit the hardest by this recession.50

Youth voters were feeling the effects of the economy just like any other age group and

disapproved of the lagging economy because this meant a lack of jobs and opportunities for

themselves. 69 percent of youth voters believed that condition of the nations economy within the

last year had gotten worse.51 Bush and Clinton had two different ideologies and solutions for the

struggling economy. Bush believed that the government should not interfere in the free market

and let it work itself out. Bush stated that “Today the Federal Government spends nearly 24 cents

of every dollar, 24 cents of every dollar of the nation's income. And that's the fact. Government

is too big and spends too much.”52 With this belief that government is too involved Bush

proposed that cutbacks were the solution to fixing the economy.

With his unofficial campaign slogan being “It’s the economy, stupid”; Clinton believed

the government should get involved to fix it and the injustices created from this economy,

”Clinton stated “People who make over $200,000 saw their incomes raise fifteen times faster

than average Americans. The average middle- class person, by contrast, is working 158 hours a

year more than in 1969 for about the same income -- an extra month of work without extra pay.

50 Kamery, Rob. "A BRIEF REVIEW OF THE RECESSION OF 1990-1991." In The Academy of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues,, 61-64. Proceedings of Allied Academies International Conference. 2nd ed. Vol. 8. Accessed March 06, 2015. http://www.sbaer.uca.edu/research/allied/2004_maui/legal_ethical_regulatory_issues/14.pdf.51 C-SPAN. "Clinton Campaign Speech." Speech, /clinton-campaign-speech, Wharton School of Business, Pennslyvania. Accessed March 06, 2015. http://www.c-span.org/video/?25654-1/clinton-campaign-speech.52 C-SPAN. "Clinton Campaign Speech."

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A new social order is emerging, more unequal, more divided, more impenetrable to those who

seek to get ahead.”53 Clinton acknowledged the concerns ordinary Americans were feeling

proposed solutions such as a good education to all citizens, rebuilding the economy in order for it

to grow and pushing for society to change overall. Clinton made sure to specifically speak to

how the economy was affecting youth voters: “Millions of young people growing up in this

country today can't count on that dream. They look around and see that their hard work may not

be rewarded. Most people are working harder for less these days, as they have been for well over

a decade. The American Dream is slipping away along with the loss of our economic

leadership.”54 Clinton’s stance on the economy targeted the interests of youth voters.

Environment-- for young voters environmental protection is consistently major point of

concern. Candidates campaigned this issue very differently. While Bush’s approach relied

heavily on attacking existing laws to protect the environment; Clinton however emphasized

environmental action. The economic status of the nation called for Bush to be steeply concerned

with job security that he was willing to openly attack policies that protected the environment as a

means to create more jobs. “He called for opening half the nation's wetlands to development, a

clear reversal of a 1988 campaign promise, and proposed drilling for oil in the untouched Arctic

National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.He urged changes in the law to allow strip mining for coal in

national forests, and he dulled the effectiveness of the 1990 Clean Air Act by delaying a host of

new rules and changing others.” Bush even attacked the Endangered Species Act in

order to fulfill his goal of job growth. Bush’s new stance on the environment was

contradictory to how he campaigned the issue in his last election.55 In the 1988

53 Jaegger, Barbara. "Posthumous salute to a man and his mission." In: The Record, October 8, 1993: 11.54 Kolbert, Elizabeth. "THE 1992 CAMPAIGN: Media; Whistle-Stops a La 1992: Arsenio, Larry and Phil."55 Ibid.

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election Bush stated he wanted to be known as the “Environmental President”

however his newly found disdain for environmental laws and policies for the

country to gain economic advancement did not seem to help him in this election.

Clinton acknowledged his failures with the environment as the Governor of

Arkansas but linked his states actions of creating more jobs for short term while

hurting the environment in which he understood later on as counter productive.

“He has promised that as President he would ban new offshore oil and gas drilling,

support an international treaty to control emissions of carbon dioxide that add to

global warming and convene a meeting to settle differences between

environmentalists and loggers in the Pacific Northwest, though he says he would

leave the Endangered Species Act unaltered.”56Clintons' platform ensured that job

security and environmental protection were ideas that could exist together.

Clinton also had a vice president candidate that was seen as a legitimate

spokesperson for the issues. Gore also like his running mate reached out to youth

voters on MTV’s to discuss the environment amongst many other questions. 57

Although Clinton’s track record of environmental protection as a Governor was

shaky he was able to be articulate his platform and use his running-mate Al Gore

effectively in this policy area.

Getting the Vote

The Democratic Party made some effort to make one on one contact with youth voters

through visiting college campuses and both candidates made an effort to make appearances to

56 Ibid.57 Ifill, Gwen. "THE 1992 CAMPAIGN: Youth Vote; Clinton Goes Eye to Eye With MTV Generation." The New York Times. June 16, 1992. Accessed April 01, 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/17/us/the-1992-campaign-youth-vote-clinton-goes-eye-to-eye-with-mtv-generation.html.

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sell their campaign to youth voters. According to the American National Election Studies only

15 percent of youth voters were contacted by either major party but 85 percent were contacted to

register to vote.58 The majority of the campaigning to register youth voters and get them to the

polls was done by outside organizations. Rock the vote and MTV’s Choose or Lose came

together to engage youth voters in this election. Many praised Rock the Vote and Choose or Lose

for registering 750,000 new voters and also, getting youth voters to vote in a record number of

11 million in the 1992 election. 59

Rock the Vote is a non-profit that was established in 1990 by the music industry. There

was two concerns Rock the Vote wanted to address initially which was fighting censorship and

mobilizing youth voters to support this fight.60 Rock the Vote began to partner with other

organizations however once it partnered with MTV it started to form into what it is today. MTV

was founded in 1981 and in was a twenty-four hour music video station in 1992.During this time,

MTV was being criticized for its explicit content and partnering with Rock the Vote gave MTV a

chance to re-brand itself.

Between 1990 and 1992, MTV donated 20 million dollars’ worth of free airtime for

PSA’s created by the Rock the Vote.61 Many of these PSA’s used pop culture icons as endorsers

of voting and made voting look fun and cool so it would appeal to young voters. For the 1992

election, MTV decided to focus a portion of its air time on covering the presidential campaign

58 Ibid.59 Berke, Richard L. "THE 1992 CAMPAIGN: White House; Bush Braces for a Political 'Hurricane'" The New York Times. June 18, 1992. Accessed April 01, 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/19/us/the-1992-campaign-white-house-bush-braces-for-a-political-hurricane.html.60 Ibid.61 Schneider, Keith. "THE 1992 CAMPAIGN: Issues -- The Environment; Clinton and Bush Show Contradictions in Balancing Jobs and Conservation."

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with the Choose or Lose segment. Choose or Lose covered conventions discussed issues that

mattered to youth voters and brought the candidates to the youth. By working together, Rock the

Vote and MTV brought continuous coverage of the campaigns to this group that they may not

have seen or cared enough to watch.62 Overall, both organizations played a significant role in

getting young voters to vote in this election and they still continue to make these efforts today.

Connecting

In the 1992 election the new way to reach voters was through appearing on late night

television programs and television call in shows, these programs were not solely focused on

news. This was not the first time that candidates used informal forums as a means to reach out to

voters however in 1992 it was more common.“Politicians and media analysts agree that

the rise of the talk show in political culture reflects broader trends, most

significantly the declining influence of the network news shows.”63 Talk shows had an

important in the role of informing the public and reaching out to a wider variety of people

overall, including youth voters, this was critical to this campaign in particular. Appearing on

shows that were not focused on the news allowed for a more lax environment for candidates to

speak more openly without the hard questions and build more intimate relationships with

voters.64

62The American National Election Studies "Contacted by Either Major Party 1956-2008 PERCENT AMONG DEMOGRAPHIC GROUPS WHO RESPONDED : Yes'" Chart. In The American National Election Studies. Accessed April 05, 2015. http://electionstudies.org/nesguide/2ndtable/t6c_1a_1.htm.63 The American National Election Studies."Watched Campaign on TV 1952-2008 PERCENT AMONG DEMOGRAPHIC GROUPS WHO RESPONDED : 'Yes'" Chart. In The American National Election Studies. Accessed April 05, 2015. http://electionstudies.org/nesguide/2ndtable/t6d_1_2.htm.64The American National Election Studies "Condition of Nation's Economy Over the Last Year 1980-2008 PERCENT AMONG DEMOGRAPHIC GROUPS WHO RESPONDED : 'Gotten Worse'" Chart. In The American National Election Studies. Accessed April 05, 2015. http://electionstudies.org/nesguide/2ndtable/t4e_1_3.htm.

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Clinton’s campaign advantageously used this new forum to reach voters to appeal to the

average person. Clinton made appearances on top rated talk shows such as Arsenio Hall and and

Larry King in which he showcased his musical ability on the saxaphone. 65 While he was able to

showcase a personal talent of his he was also able to discuss pressing issues in the same setting.

In reference to Clinton on the Aresional Hall Show: “He then spent half an hour

discussing, in rather general terms, his views on the recent Los Angeles riots, on

racial harmony and on turning young people away from crime.”66 Clinton thrived

in these informal forums and was able to appeal to voters through his image and

personality.

In regards to specifically targeting youth voters clinton appeared on MTV in

which he had a discussion with youth voters. “Choose or Lose: Facing the Future

with Bill Clinton”, was an hour long segment in which youth voters had the

opportunity to discuss a variety of topics with Clinton from his love of Elvis to

more serious issues such as Abortion.67 Clinton stated he wanted “demystify” the

political process by focusing on the youth voters. Although most of the youth

involved in this discussion were registered voters due to this taking place on MTV

he was reaching out to other youth who were avid watchers of the program and

network .68 This gave Clinton the upper hand with youth voters.

65 Dowd, Timothy. "Rocking the Vote:The Music Industry and the Mobilization of Young Voters." Journal on Media Culture 3 (2000): 3. Rocking the Vote. SoundScapes.info. Web. 01 Dec. 2014. <http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/VOLUME03/Rocking_the_vote.shtml>.66 Hall, Carla. "Heavy-Metal suffrage. Rock the Vote's young crowd registration." In: The Washington Post, June 12, 1992: C1.67 Kolbert, Elizabeth. "THE 1992 CAMPAIGN: Media; Whistle-Stops a La 1992: Arsenio, Larry and Phil." The New York Times. The New York Times, 04 June 1992. Web. 01 Apr. 2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/05/us/the-1992-campaign-media-whistle-stops-a-la-1992-arsenio-larry-and-phil.html>.68 Suro, Roberto. "THE 1992 CAMPAIGN: Al Gore; Environment and Industry Can Flourish, Gore Says." The New York Times. The New York Times, 21 Oct. 1992. Web. 06 Apr. 2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/1992/10/22/us/the-1992-campaign-al-gore-environment-and-industry-can-flourish-gore-says.html>.

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Bush criticized the idea of reaching out to youth voters in the manner

Clinton had: "I think in a campaign year, you've got to draw the line somewhere.

And I am not going to be out there kind of being a teeny-bopper at 68. I just can't

do it."69 While Bush made appearances on television he relied on traditional media

coverage reaching a smaller demographic. 85% of youth voters watched this

campaign on TV.70 This means it was critical for the candidate to reach television

forums engaged Youth voters. Unlike Clinton Bush did not use this medium

effectively to reach broader audiences.

Analysis

Upon reviewing the Presidential Election of 1992 it is evident that the Clintons’

campaign was more effective in mobilizing youth voters.Clinton’s platform on issues such as the

economy and Environment that youth voters found important served in his best interest.

Although the Democratic party nor the Republican party made significant efforts to mobilize the

voters Clinton himself did target this group. By communicating through non traditional media

forums like MTV and late night talk shows he was able to sell himself and his image to broader

audiences including youth voters. Moreover, 44 percent of youth voters voted for Clinton in

comparison to 34% that voted for Bush.71. These findings suggest that when an effort is made to

reach out to youth voters, they are responsive and vote.

2008 Presidential Election: Barack Obama Vs. John MCcain

69 "Excerpts From Bush's Economic Speech in Detroit." The New York Times. September 10, 1992. Accessed March 09, 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/11/us/the-1992-campaign-excerpts-from-bush-s-economic-speech-in-detroit.html70 Miller, Judith “But Can You Dance to It?: MTV Turns to News,” New York Times,October 11, 1992.71 Johnson, Steve. "Voters Under Age 25 Go For Clinton, Democrats."Tribunedigital-chicagotribune. Chicago Tribune, 05 Nov. 1992. Web. 06 Apr. 2015. <http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1992-11-05/news/9204100226_1_exit-polls-exit-poll-numbers-youth-vote>.

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The main candidates the 200 of this Democratic Senator from Illinois Barack Obama

against Republican Senator from Arizona John McCain. This is the first election since 1952 in

which there was no incumbent candidate due to Bush not running for a second term which put

more pressure on both campaigns to reach voters.

Policies

Economy-- under Bush’s administration in 2008 the economy began to fail a which led

to the recession of 2008 to be at the center of the of election. Citizens wanted to know what the

candidates were going to pull the nation out of the recession. 61 percent of youth voters felt that

it was the most important problem at the time.72 In order to address the issue both candidates

supported the 700 billion Wall Street Bailout plan however they framed the issues differently

within their campaign. . For instance Mccain wanted less regulation of the economy and pointed

at lobbyists and politicians to blame while obama believed that it was the lack of regulation of

big business that led the economy down the road of recession.73 The youth electorate in this

election is seen as liberal and in favor of government regulation which made Obama more

appealing to youth voters.

Youth are often vulnerable in matters of job security especially through recessions.

“They're dealing with more college debt than ever—nearly $20,000 for the average student. And

more than a quarter lack health care coverage, a rate twice as high as the rest of the population.74

Although higher education is not a crucial as job security for youth voters Obama spoke to both

72 Keeter, Scott. "Young Voters in the 2008 Election." Pew Research Center RSS. November 13, 2008. Accessed April 7,2015. http://www.pewresearch.org/2008/11/13/young-voters-in-the-2008-election/.73 Carter, Shan. "On the Issues: Economy." Election 2008. The New York Times, 23 May 2012. Web. 18 Apr. 2015. <http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/president/issues/economy.html>.74 Ruggeri, Amanda. "Young Voters Powered Obama's Victory While Shrugging Off Slacker Image." US News. U.S.News & World Report, 6 Nov. 2008. Web. 8 Apr. 2015. <http://www.usnews.com/news/campaign-2008/articles/2008/11/06/young-voters-powered-obamas-victory-while-shrugging-off-slacker-image>.

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of these issues as one which was successful in getting the support of youth voters. “He

promised he would cut the deficit we inherited in half by the end of my first term with “the most

transparent administration ever. President Obama also said, “when I’m President, I will make

college affordable for every American.”75 Obama’s stance on economy was able to help establish

him as a true contender in the race hence 60 percent of youth voters felt Obama would do a

better job in fixing the economy versus 33 percent of youth voters that believed Mccain would.

Healthcare-- as mentioned more than a quarter of these voters lack health insurance for

various reasons. In this election health care affordability was the second most important issue to

youth voters with 40% of youth voters polling this as a concern. 76 Both candidates wanted to cut

government spending on healthcare but had two different approaches on how this reforming

should take place. McCain wanted reform health care without increasing taxes on the

wealthy.“I’m certainly not interested in raising people’s taxes, as many of the Democrats are

interested in doing. I’m absolutely opposed to that.”77 McCain opposed making everyone have

health care and believed that it should be a choice of the person however he was willing to make

provisions through tax credits to make healthcare more affordable. “In health care, we believe in

enhancing the freedom of individuals to receive necessary and desired care. We do not believe in

coercion and the use of state power to mandate care, coverage or costs.”78 McCain attributes his

75 Bigelow, Ciela. "Youth Vote: Obama's Most Loyal Supporters Are Jumping Ship." Townhall.com. N.p., 31 Oct. 2012. Web. 8 Apr. 2015. <http://townhall.com/columnists/celiabigelow/2012/10/31/youth_vote_obamas_most_loyal_supporters_are_jumping_ship/page/full>.76 Davison, McKayle. ANALYSIS OF YOUNG VOTERS IN THE 2008 ELECTION. Rep. American University School of Communication, n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2015. <http://www.american.edu/soc/americanforum/upload/au-report-on-young-voters.pdf>.77 Sack, Kevin. "On the Issues: Health Care." - Election Guide 2008. The New York Times, 23 May 2012. Web. 10 Apr. 2015. <http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/president/issues/health.html>.78Mccain., John "John McCain: Remarks on Health Care in Des Moines, Iowa."John McCain: Remarks on Health Care in Des Moines, Iowa. The American Presidency Project, 11 Oct. 2007. Web. 10 Apr. 2015. <http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=77103>.

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stance to his traditional beliefs as a conservative however this did not appeal to liberal young

voters.

Meanwhile Obama’s platform on health insurance is as liberal as it gets and appeals to

young voters. Obama plan for healthcare reform included universal healthcare as a primary goal.

Obama target raising taxes on big businesses in order to secure these changes. “To help pay for

all this, we will ask all but the smallest businesses who don’t make a meaningful contribution

today to the health care coverage of their employees to do so by supporting this new plan.”79

Along with the incentives through tax credits Obama was willing to provide insurance to people

who cannot afford it through expanding eligibility for state programs like Medicaid or allowing

youth voters to stay on their families insurances after college. 68 percent of young voters felt

that Obama would do a better job at making healthcare more affordable and available.80 There is

seemingly a correlation in Obama’s position on how to address healthcare reformation and its

appeal to youth voters.

Getting the Vote

In this election outside mobilizing organizations played a role in reaching youth voters

however it was a smaller one compared to the 1992 election due campaigns playing the primary

role in mobilization. The Rock the Vote organization registered 2.6 million people in this

election. 81 This organization utilized every aspect of their organization to get youth voters to

vote from there website to vote rallies around the nation. Other mobilizing organizations such

the Hip Hop Caucus, New Voters Project, and the Bus Federation used their resources to

79 Sack, Kevin. "On the Issues: Health Care." - Election Guide 2008.80 Davison, McKayle. ANALYSIS OF YOUNG VOTERS IN THE 2008 ELECTION. 81 "2008 Accomplishments." Rock the Vote: Building Political Power for Young People. Rock the Vote, n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2015. <http://www.rockthevote.com/about/rock-the-vote-2008-program/>.

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encourage young voters to participate in this election.82 Some of the surge in youth voters

participating in this election could be attributed to these outside groups making effective contact.

Each candidate had youth outreach coordinators and used new mediums to mobilize

young voters however Obama’s youth campaign was evidently more successful. Nationally 25

percent of youth voters were contacted by Obama compared to the 13% that was contacted by

Mccain.83 Obama had an entire staff dedicated to youth outreach overall throughout the nation

with a paid youth outreach directors in 18 states while McCain had one full time person on his

team. “Early in 2008, it was clear Senator Barack Obama’s youth outreach was leaps and bounds

more sophisticated and better resourced that Senator McCain’s.”84 Obama’s campaign also used

the means of technology more effectively which reached youth voters while McCain’s

campaign fell short in this aspect. Obama understood that in order to reach voters he needed to

make contact through nontraditional means and it paid off. “ It was an online movement

that begat offline behavior, including producing youth voter turnout that may have

supplied the margin of victory.” 85 Both campaigns made an effort to reach youth voters

which is a contribution to the record high youth voter turnout in this election.

Connecting

The role of technology more specifically the internet expanded in this election.Both

Campaigns recognized the significance of the internet and utilized as a political tool to be reach

voters due its popularity and accessibility. In 2008, 46 percent of Americans used the internet,

email or text messaging on their mobile devices to obtain campaign information, share opinions

82 Johnson, Dennis W. Campaigning for President 2008: Strategy and Tactics, New Voices and New Techniques. New York: Routledge, 2009. 115. Print.83 Keeter, Scott. "Young Voters in the 2008 Election."84 Johnson, Dennis W. Campaigning for President 2008: Strategy and Tactics, New Voices and New Techniques85 Carr, David. “The Media Equation--How Obama Tapped into Social Networks’ Power.” The New York Times. 9 Nov. 2008. Web. 11 Apr. 2015.

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and get others involved, 86 it should be noted that most of the voters that make up this percentage

were Obama supporters. Moreover youth voters are avid users of technology as a means to

communicate so much so that in this election 58 percent of young people were politically

informed mostly by the web.87 Therefore, campaigns needed to make a great effort on the web to

impact youth voters.

“Like a lot of Web innovators, the Obama campaign did not invent anything completely

new. Instead, by bolting together social networking applications under the banner of a

movement, they created an unforeseen force to raise money, organize locally, fight smear

campaigns and get out the vote that helped them topple the Clinton machine and then.John

McCain and the Republicans.”88 For this reason, Obama’s election is regarded to as innovative

because of how he used media to virtually carry him to the finish line first which had yet to be

done before him. Obama had a paid team specifically for his mybarackobama.com website and

to ensure that it would be effective he had experts of various online media formats as team

members for instace :one of the founders of Facebook, a YouTube Expert, and a text message

advisor.89On his website voters had access to traditional campaign information such as Obama’s

biography and platform on issues however it also included donating tools, voter registration tools

, and various social media tools. This team focused on building a personalized relationship with

voters in order to gain their support.

86 Rainie, Lee, and Aaron Smith. “The Internet and the 2008 Election” Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project. 15 June 2008. Web. 10 Apr. 2015. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2008/The-Internet-and-the-2008-Election.aspx87 Stephen J. Wayne, Is This Any Way to Run a Democratic Election, 4th Ed. (Washington: CQ Press, 2011), 217.88 Carr, David. “The Media Equation--How Obama Tapped into Social Networks’ Power.”89 Stephen J. Wayne. Is This Any Way to Run a Democratic Election, 219.

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Through the donation tools and advertisements on the internet Obama was able to rely

on the public to fund his campaign and this happened in record numbers. “While past campaigns

have relied largely on support from small circles of wealthy and well-connected patrons, Obama

has received contributions from more than 1 million donors. He raised $91 million in the first

two months of 2008 alone, most of it in small amounts over the Internet.”90 While McCain raised

substantial amounts of money as well it was not nearly as much as Obama and most of McCain

‘s money that had restrictions on it while Obama’s was from public contributions which allowed

his Campaign more spending discretion. Obama spent 961 million dollars in comparison to 619

million spent by McCain.91 McCain did not have the means financially to outspend Obama in

any category including internet campaigning.

Both McCain and Obama had official social media accounts however Obama’s

campaign clearly demonstrated superiority in the use of them. “In addition to Obama’s 13

million member email list and the three million mobile and SMS subscribers – tools that the

McCain campaign failed to effectively utilize – the Obama campaign also built advantages in

Website traffic, YouTube viewers and social networking friends through a better coordinated

effort and a 10-to-1 advantage in online staff.”92 By using popular sites such as Twitter,

Facebook, Myspace and many others Obama’s campaign was interactive and allowed for

supporters to have a voice while staying informed. For instance, “Obama had more than three

million Facebook friends, supporters also used the tools that they were familiar with in Facebook

90 Mosk, Matthew. "Obama Rewriting Rules for Raising Campaign Money Online." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 28 Mar. 2008. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/27/AR2008032702968.html>.91 Jones, Erik, and Salvatore Vassallo. The 2008 Presidential Elections: A Story in Four Acts. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. 105. Print.92 Stephen J. Wayne, Is This Any Way to Run a Democratic Election. 219.

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to find creative ways to spread the message in support of his candidacy.”93 This allowed for

young people to build community groups and connect in support of Obama and also stay

connected with the campaign through email and text messages. The campaign on facebook sent

out over a billion emails alone and 7,000 messages with updates and reminders to vote.94 This

example of facebook demonstrated how the Obama Campaign was able to thrive in social media

platforms.

Analysis

Upon reviewing the Presidential Election of 2008 it is evident that Obama's campaign

was more effective in mobilizing youth voters. Obama’s liberal stance on the economy and

healthcare reformation made him more appealing to youth voters which won him popularity.

While in this election outside voting organizations played a smaller role than before ; there was

still an effort on their behalf to get youth voters registered to vote. However most of the

mobilizing of youth voters was done by the official campaigns themselves. Obama ensured to

reach voters by having a full staff devoted to the needs of the youth which McCain did not have.

By connecting through non- traditional means of campaigning such as the internet and social

Obama was able to raise more money and reach more people, including youth voters. Moreover

Obama had 66 percent of the youth vote in comparison to McCain’s 31 percent.95 These findings

again suggest that when an effort is made to reach out to youth voters, they are responsive and

vote.

93 Lutz, Monte. "Social Pulpit The Barack Obama’s Social Media Toolkit." (n.d.): 5. Berkman Center For Internet and Society and Harvard University. Cyber Law Clinic, 2009. Web. 11 Apr. 2015. <http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/sites/cyber.law.harvard.edu/files/Social%20Pulpit%20-%20Barack%20Obamas%20Social%20Media%20Toolkit%201.09.pdf>.94 Lutz, Monte. "Social Pulpit The Barack Obama’s Social Media Toolkit." (n.d.): 3.95 Keeter, Scott. "Young Voters in 2008 Election."

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Conclusion

In looking at these two elections, it is clear that efforts toward attracting youth voters

were made. In 1992 Clinton used his personality and charisma as a person to win over youth

voters by participating in forums that were interested. Along with Clinton's’ efforts voter

organizations made clear contributions in getting youth voters registered and politically engaged.

In 2008, Barack Obama and McCain's’ campaigns took great strides in reaching out to young

voters. Obama was at the forefront in this effort with his impactful take over of the internet,

social media, emails, and text messaging in order to gain youth support. Although independent

voting organizations played a smaller role in this election they still contributed in registering

youth voters. The effort to mobilize young voter during these campaigns is evident.

Even with the surge of youth voter put in these elections there is an assumption about

youth voters that plagues researchers; which is fueled by the fact that youth participation is still

lower than any other age group in elections. Therefore it is assumed that when youth voters do

vote they come out in such mass numbers that it determines who will win the election which is

unrealistic. Youth voters share some of the same concerns and may like the same characteristics

or platforms of a candidate as other votes ; this means that while candidates are attracting youth

voters they may also be attracting other voters not in this group.If youth do not vote they will not

be represented and democracy will not be working at its full potential. More troubling is that the

youth will decide the fate of the nation one day. However Youth voters are not solely

responsible for the lack of political engagement. It is imperative that campaigns use their

resources (money, time, and effort) in targeting this group of voters so that they go to the polls.

These are the future drivers of politics and it is crucial that they get involved now.

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