Coalition, NCPIRG Strive To Increase Youth Voting

The Triangle is one of 12 sites participating in a project identifying methods that could be used to raise the turnout among voters aged 18 to 24.

Prior studies indicate that 20 percent of registered youths actually vote -- compared to 50 percent of all registered voters in the United States.

The voter study is being conducted by Yale in collaboration with the national Youth Vote Coalition and the N.C. Public Interest Research Group, among others.

YVC, a nonpartisan organization, is dedicated to increasing voter turnout, educating voters and encouraging candidates to address youth issues. NCPIRG is a liberal-leaning organization that largely focuses on environmental issues.

Megan DeSmedt, a representative from NCPIRG, trained 16 UNC students Wednesday evening to contact potential voters in the Triangle area.

DeSmedt said that, not surprisingly, Bowles and Dole have not addressed the issues pertinent to young people in their debates. Politicians campaign to senior citizens, she said. If the trend is not reversed, by the time the young people age, they will be disengaged from politics.

Research shows that contact by members of organizations like YVC and NCPIRG increased the likelihood of young people voting by 10 percent during the 2000 general election, DeSmedt said.

Studies also have shown that peer-to-peer interaction raises the turnout, DeSmedt told the volunteers.

All participants will receive advice on where and how to vote, and some will receive extra candidate information. "We are not just registering people," DeSmedt said. "We are not just educating people. We are making sure that people actually get out and vote."

To achieve this, the YVC volunteers directly will contact selected citizens between today and Nov. 5. "We will be knocking on doors of people registered and giving them fliers," she said.

Participants also will be asked to sign the "I Pledge To Vote" sheet to affirm their commitment to vote Nov. 5.

There are 11,000 registered voters in Orange County whose doors could soon receive a knock from an YVC volunteer, DeSmedt said. The study's control group will not be contacted by YVC volunteers.

The Triangle area was chosen for the study because of its high student population, she said. Because many students do not change their voting districts when they come to campus, they are relatively underrepresented, she said. But YVC is working to change that reality.

About 50 volunteers began work in the Triangle area two weeks before Fall Break. At UNC, 1,000 people were registered through on-campus registration drives, DeSmedt said.

UNC student Sanja Bosman, a junior English major, is participating in the program to receive credit for her APPLES internships.

Bosman said she volunteered because she identified with the aims of YVC. "I am a pretty political person. I just want to get the youth more involved in democracy and make candidates listen to what (young people) are saying."

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.