The Young and the Voting

Chrystina Langan, a regional correspondent for Scoop08, interviewed Jane Fleming Kleeb, the executive director of Young Voter PAC, about the role the youth vote has played, and could continue to play in the 2008 election. The Youth Voter PAC helps the Democratic Party reach out to the 18-35 demographic.

Photo courtesy of Youth Voter PAC

Chrystina Langan: What was the motivating factor for you to become so involved in the youth vote in America?

Jane Fleming Kleeb: There were two big reasons. I was involved with AmeriCorps and it was the first time I saw government in action. That is, it was the first time I saw an issue I cared about that was directly addressed by the government. That made me realize that the people who we vote for can and do have a direct affect not only on my life but the kids that I cared so deeply about at the school our program was at. The second reason is similar in the sense it has to do with voting people into office who will simply care, and that is around mental health. I recovered from anorexia but struggled for many years almost losing the battle. If my family had to only rely on health insurance there is no way I would have gotten the care I needed.

The only people I saw that could change the things I care about, by electing good people, and that were not voting was young people. I knew if people actually talked to them, they would vote. Its not rocket science, as I often say. Young people get politics, its just for years no one asked for their vote.

CL: What do you think shaped your political mindset the most?

JFK: My mom, my first grade teacher Sister Mary Ann and Myles Horton. My mom was a pro-life activist growing up. It was rare when we were not helping a teenage mom or that I wasn't watching her give a speech. She worked day and night. I can remember many weekends at her office with her on the phone or planning events. She also was ahead of her time. Her stance was always to protect the unborn first. However, she also knew then, and now, that both sides were demonizing each other and getting nowhere. She was the first person I saw in action try to bring the issue to a common ground. Sister Mary Ann had this bank in her room where we would all put money in each week and send it to different international groups. She always explained the groups to us and what our money was going to help do. She and Myles Horton, who was an activist and an educator, taught me that you must serve first if you want to be a leader.

CL: What sticks out in your mind most about the age group that you describe as "young voters"?

JFK: The way young voters have trended blue and increased their voting levels is most definitely the thing that sticks out the most. They are redefining the political game.

CL: Do you think that the 2008 race for president will make a significant impact on the minds of young voters?

JFK: Young voters will make a significant impact on the 08 race … I think they will be the ones who elect the next president. Democrats can't win without them.

CL: What do you think is the key to motivating young people to be interested and active in politics?

JFK: Talking to them—that goes for young voter groups, the party and candidates. The party and candidates need to invest more resources into the youth vote. Groups like YDA, Democrats Work, League of Young Voters, are doing great work to get their peers out to vote—we now have to work on the infrastructure side and the party insiders to believe if you target young people they vote.

CL: In your poinion, why do young voters tend to lean towards the Democratic Party?

JFK: More progressive and Democratic youth groups are talking to them. I also think they witnessed some of our biggest failures in government—Katrina, policies in Iraq, growing debt, growing costs of education … and, some would say, surprisingly, they still believe government and politicians who go into politics to make people's lives better is still a possibility.

CL: What would you say is the number one issue among young voters for the 08 race?

JFK: The polls right now say it's the economy, then Iraq, then health care. Since 2004, it has been those 3 and the number 1 spot gets shifted all the time between the issues.

CL: How big a role does the mainstream media play in the youth vote?

JFK: Huge. In 2004 when Kerry lost, young people got blamed for not voting (which they did, [they] had the biggest increase since they got the right to vote in 1972). That was the focus of the media stories, the reporters were lazy and focused on the percentage of the electorate, not their turnout numbers. And since young people watch tv and read papers, they believed that their peers didn't turn out. We tried hard in the youth community to push back on that, but we were not as organized as we are today and the meme was out there and reinforced all the negative stereotypes about young voters.

CL: How big a role does non-mainstream media play?

JFK: Without non-mainstream media we wouldn't have been able to push back on many "anti-youth vote" stories that have already happened this election cycle. Iowa was the perfect example, as soon as David Yepsen (a reporter in Iowa) and the Clintons were saying young people who go to school in Iowa but are not "from" Iowa should not caucus all of the youth leaders decided on a media strategy and pushed back hard, mostly starting on blogs and Facebook. Since we didn't have much time before the caucus to get the word out we had young voters' back with gas money to help them get back to caucus (since it happened during winter break), we used Facebook and blog ads as the main way to get the information to students … and it worked. Iowa was the only state where young people outnumbered older voters!

CL: Do you think the number of young people voting will increase or decrese significantly the next election cycle depending on the winner in November?

JFK: The youth vote will increase in 2008, the question is by how much. If Obama is at the top of the ticket I could see a 20 percent increase. If he is not, I think we will see a 10 percent increase. The difference will be how many down ballot races Democrats win, which will be more if Obama is at the top of the ticket in my looking at polls and trends.

I then think eventually, if we do all the right things and have good youth vote programs institutionalized, we will see the big increases level off and young voters will be voting at the same rate as older voters and they can't be taken for granted or used as scapegoats!

Bottom line for me: Young people are changing the face of politics, who participates and who wins.

Read more from Jane Fleming Kleeb on her blog