Calling all young voters to get re-engaged with politics

COME out, come out wherever you are. Experts predict younger voters, those pumped up, enthusiastic Millennials age 18 to 24 who helped propel President Obama to victory, will not participate so much in the 2010 midterm elections.

That is both predictable and a shame. Economic issues pressing down on every age group directly affect younger voters. Just ask college students who arrive at graduation with high hopes and anticipation only to discover jobs are not there. Quite the contrary. Many highly qualified candidates are finding it difficult to even get a response to a lengthy application, much less land the elusive job.

The 2008 election was the first time since 1992 that a majority of voters ages 18 to 29 turned out, says the nonpartisan Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement, CIRCLE.

This year in Washington state, youth voting is expected to be considerably lower than two years ago — what with no presidential or gubernatorial race on the ballot.

But there is hope young folks will not completely flame out. As a mostly mail-ballot state — 38 of 39 counties vote by mail — participation in general tends to beat the national average and younger voters here are more active than in other states. And why not? Voters barely have to leave the couch. Ballots arrive in the mail. After that, how hard is it to fill in the bubbles and send it in?

The Secretary of State's office is encouraged by student government groups at colleges and universities promoting participation, including student-staffed drop boxes on a few campuses that make the process simple.

A few weeks ago, student leaders from schools around the state gathered at Western Washington University for an event, the theme of which was, "Civic Engagement and Voting."

If some of that energy translates to the broader student body, this year will not be such a bust, although the numbers may not reach 2008 participation rates until 2012, a presidential year and when Washington elects a new governor.

This year, there is some interest, says Lindsay Pryor, voter education and outreach coordinator with the Secretary of State's office, in the U.S. Senate race and citizen initiatives. Students tend to like the idea of participatory democracy.

Do not assume students in 2010 will vote the same way they did two years ago. In 2008, exit polls showed Obama drew two thirds of voters under 30, while getting 45 percent of voters 65 and older. But polls show some drop-off in support for Democrats among younger voters as they face disappointment that many promising economic-recovery ideas have not yet panned out.

The point, however, is voting should be part of one's routine and ongoing civic responsibility. Younger voters have much to lose by not taking part.