Election 2008
(2008-09-18)
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"During the primary season, the number of 18-25 years old who have registered to vote and who have voted in the primaries [has increased]," says Wilson.
Wilson says the League of Women Voters is hoping that this election will make life-long voters out of this young demographic.
"We want them to be as interested and as excited about the down ballot candidate's issues at the local level as they are about the Presidential race, which is undoubtedly what has brought them into the voting population," affirms Wilson.
In the 2004 election, there was a lot of buzz about the young voters coming out and making changes in the national political scene. But as it turned out, many of them simply didn't show up. Wilson says this year, it's a different story.
"I do believe they're going to turn out in the general election this year. I don't believe the primaries were the end of their voter experience. You're still seeing that kind of excitement around college campuses. We're still getting a lot of calls for our leagues to come and do voter registration," says Wilson.
But is this a trend that translates at the local level? Sharon Harmer, the President of the League of Women Voter's for the Greater Dayton area, says "absolutely"
"There is a group starting at Wright State University that is a chapter of the League of Women Voters. And they were simply so excited about the candidates and what's going to be going on that they wanted something out there that they could work on," says Harmer.
As for Mary Wilson, that's what it's all about; teaching young people that their vote is their voice.
"And we know that if that group gets excited, our representative democracy is safe for the next generation," says Wilson.
The National League of Women Voters is non-partisan, and their mission is to encourage and protect participation in the government. As part of their effort, they've also created a "one-stop-shop" for election related information. That website is Vote411.org.
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