How important is it that young people go to the polls and vote?  If you’re an Obama supporter as I am it’s crucial.  Look at the numbers. An estimated 23 million Americans under the age of thirty voted in the 2008 election.  That was 3.4 million more than voted in the 2004 election.  Of those youth voters in 2008, seventy percent had attended college.  Fully two-thirds of those in the 18- to 29-year-old demographic cast ballots for Obama.

Recently, I’ve heard some pretty outrageous claims dropping out of the mouths of otherwise intelligent people. But one of the most shocking has been young people in their twenties telling me that they’re planning to sit out this election because “there’s no difference between these guys.”   Obama/Biden and Romney/Ryan?  Are they kidding?

Excuse the dismissive language.  But is it actually possible that some people can’t see the difference?  Our political system is in total meltdown failure when many educated, young people such as those I’ve spoken to can’t tell the difference between the policy prescriptions of the two presidential candidates, their parties, and their parties’ platforms.  Is it laziness? Ignorance? Inattentiveness?  Lack of critical-thinking skills?  Or is it the result of brains so clogged by gaming or weed that there’s no corner in there for real-world concerns?

In order to set the record straight,  here’s a letter to those twenty-somethings who are strutting around with blinders on.

Dear Confused,

You may not have bothered to inform yourself about the issues that are dominating the upcoming elections.  Perhaps you don’t know what’s going on out there because you’ve turned down the volume on the TV.  Did you lose your Internet connection or fail to pay the bill?  Or is it that you pulled the covers up over your head and indulged in an extended nap for the four years since the last presidential election?

If you’re awake and aware now, pay attention.  Here are some things that are really going to affect you.  Believe me. It’s really going to make a difference to you if we have a Democratic or Republican administration and a balanced Congress or one dominated by the Tea Party.

Frankly, if you sit out this election and just won’t bother to vote, do us all a favor and hold back on the bitching, because there will be no one to blame but yourself.

Think about reproductive issues.

Nobody’s monitoring you but, hey, we know a little bit about your sex life. So listen up, because Republican attitudes and policy commitments are really going to hit you where it hurts.  Guys, your girlfriend’s right to choose is no big deal, right?  You thought she could get access to any sort of birth control you and she believe to be appropriate.

Sorry, but Republicans don’t agree.  Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney are targeting you and your partners.  They’ve set their sights on overturning Roe v. Wade if they can just appoint one or two more right-leaning Supreme Court justices in the next four years. And they’ve got a pretty good chance because the actuarial tables are in their favor if they win.  In fact, four out of the nine justices are in their mid to late seventies.

Maybe you’re lucky and you’re not living in one of the states where the Republican-dominated legislature is pushing to defund and shut down access to Planned Parenthood, but in many states across the country, affordable gynecological care provided by Planned Parenthood might soon be history.

Ladies, how about the cost of your birth control pills? Are you ready to have to make the decision about whether you can afford birth control at all? The Republicans are committed to repeal of the Affordable Care Act that requires new insurance plans to cover the entire cost of your birth control. Frankly, they’re thinking that maybe if birth control is too expensive you’ll think twice about that hooking-up thing. And in case you missed it, the Republicans are making it harder, if not impossible, in some states for any woman of any age, married or unmarried, to choose whether it’s the right time in her life to have a child or to have more children.

Now think about jobs.  

Maybe you decided after high school that college wasn’t for you, or that it was too expensive, or that you didn’t want to be working just to pay back student loans for the next few decades. Maybe you thought that working a secure, living-wage job with good benefits in American industry was the right move for you.

Obama/Biden and the Democrats think you should have a chance to do just that and that good government can help. Romney/Ryan and the Republicans probably want you to have that chance as well but don’t believe that government has any role in making that happen for you.  They’d rather let the market determine if you’ll find and keep that job or not.  If the market says it’s cheaper and suits a corporation’s bottom line to outsource what might have been your good job to China or India, well that’s just the way the free market works.

Did you hear, though, that Obama/Biden took bold and politically unpopular steps to bail out the auto industry? Unlike Romney and Ryan, they believed that government had a role in saving one of America’s most important industries. That commitment saved 1.414 million American jobs in the auto industry, in suppliers to the industry, in parts manufacturers, in mining, construction, and metal and metal-products industries not just in Michigan and Ohio but all across the country. In fact, you might be one of the lucky 1.414 million.

Finally, think about your health.

I know you’re feeling pretty invulnerable to health concerns at your age.  But maybe you’re one of the 57.2 million Americans under the age of sixty-five with a pre-existing condition.  Obama and the Democrats may have just saved your life when they passed the Affordable Care Act, which forbids insurance companies from denying you coverage because of your pre-existing condition.

Maybe you’ve recently developed a health problem so severe that you’ll need multiple operations.  You’d be one of the 105 million Americans who will no longer face lifetime caps on health care benefits and who will now be able to have those operations. And Romney/Ryan? They’re committed to repealing the Affordable Care Act that will allow you to have those life-saving procedures and not be dropped from your insurance coverage.

And there’s even more you might want to consider.

Is there really no difference between the Republican and Democratic approaches to climate change?  To who will be getting tax increases—the wealthy or the middle class? To the wisdom of resuming nuclear-weapon production?  To diplomacy or military intervention? To regulating a financial industry that almost collapsed the world’s economy? To the safety of your food, air, and water?

Think about it.

The post Dear 20-something: Think about the issues, then vote! appeared first on Occasional Planet.

During an election season, there are a lot of things that supporters can do for their candidates.  Give money, of course.  Distribute literature door-to-door.  Stuff envelopes, fold letters, glue stamps, run to the Post Office.  Answer phones.  But perhaps the most unpopular job, and one that few people enjoy, is phone canvassing.

There you sit with your cell phone in hand, in a cramped office with other callers, looking at a list printed in 8-point type.  Most often, your call will be answered by a machine.  When a real live person does pick up, you will get either (a) someone nice; (b) someone rude; or (c) someone who hangs up on you.

After several phone canvassing sessions for a candidate for state representative, I’ve discovered that there is another option.  With a little bit of luck, you may actually call (d) someone funny.

Not that everyone in this category intends to be funny; some are simply ludicrous.  Following are some responses to calls asking for support for my Democratic state senator:

“Yeah, well, I’ll vote for her.  I like her hair better.”

Voter:  “I’m so sorry, I’m a Republican.”

Canvasser:  “I’m so sorry, too.”

From an answering machine:  “Leave a message and I’ll call you back…unless you are a Republican.”

“Oh. I’m voting for Claire McCaskill.”  (Right party; wrong race)

“Don’t you know that adults don’t care about this stuff?”

And this, my personal favorite and candidate for the most appalling response.  The phone was answered by a prominent and wealthy woman, whose name would be immediately recognized in the community.

“Oh, my husband handles all our votes.  You know, he owns XXXXX” (well-known company with local headquarters).

On a personal note:  I’m against all the current efforts to implement Voter ID laws.  But I might re-think a Voter IQ effort.

The post Voter canvassing: Who knew it could be funny? appeared first on Occasional Planet.

Loud proclamations of the superiority of democracy.  Deep-pocketed commitments of American military might and treasure. Considering the enormity of America’s hopes for the democratic ideal around the world, one would assume that citizens here at home understand that democracy’s most sacred rite—voting—counts.  That assumption, however, turns out to be false. Look to the 2010 midterm elections for evidence: Only 41.6% of the citizenry bothered to show up.

In contrast, take a look at what is happening in the Middle East. Recently Egypt held a national referendum to amend its constitution—a referendum that represented the country’s first legitimate vote in fifty-nine years. Speaking with Western journalists as he stood in line, sixty-five-year-old Om Sayad explained eloquently,  “I am here for my sons and my grandsons. The country is finally ours and we will never let it slip again by staying at home when we should be right here, in line, to make our voices heard.”

That kind of passion was in evidence as well in the fragile democracy that is Iraq, where, in 2005, the country held its first free and fair election in forty years.  A whopping 72% of eligible voters left the polling stations and walked out onto the streets proudly displaying their blue digits.

In contrast, American voter turnout is suffering from a chronic case of anemia. And there’s no doubt that our political discourse and national priorities are skewed because of it.  Imagine telling a group of one hundred people that “we’ve got some tough problems here, and it’s just going to get tougher. But don’t worry. We don’t need fifty-nine of you because forty-one of us can make the decisions for all of us affecting job creation, taxes, wages, health care, military spending, energy, and climate change.”

And the low number of voters is not a new phenomenon.  Paltry voter turnout has been in evidence in the previous seven elections. Just take a look at the percentage of eligible voters who actually voted, and it becomes evident why many Americans feel government does not reflect their interests:

Even more damaging is that the banality of our national discourse and the increasingly outrageous claims of what the majority of Americans believe can be traced to the fact that politicians actually don’t know what the majority thinks. And why should they? The majority isn’t bothering to tell them.  This silence ensures that  opinions can, at the very least, be ignored and, at worst, be misrepresented and fabricated.

And our sister democracies?  The World Policy Institute’s 1995 sampling of voting rates demonstrates that Europe’s democracies are alive, well, and kicking.

One of the most successful remedies for low voter turnout turns out to be compulsory voting—the historical norm in twenty countries in Europe, South and Central America, the Middle East, and Asia.

Where voting is compulsory, it is considered not just a right but a civic duty—like  paying taxes or jury duty.  Studies demonstrate that compulsory voting increases turnout and decreases economic disparities in electoral participation. These same studies show that when citizens know they are required to vote, they pay closer attention to the issues and go to the polls better informed.

The poster child for compulsory voting is Australia.  There individuals over the age of 18—except those convicted of serious crimes or unsound of mind—must register and be present to vote on federal election days.  If not, an individual is subject to a fine of $20.  If the fine goes unpaid the voter scofflaw may be taken to court and fined an additional $50. The initial $20 doesn’t seem like much, but it gets the job done.  Since compulsory voting and the fine were brought into effect in 1924, the participation rate has come in at between 94 to 96%. Prior to 1924 the participation rate was closer to the American average at 47%.

And what happens in countries where compulsory voting was the historical norm but has in recent times been eliminated?  In two countries—the Netherlands and Venezuela—where voting was once compulsory but is now voluntary, the voting rate has plummeted 20% and 30% respectively.

Is compulsory voting the solution in the U.S.?  Polls consistently show Americans rejecting it.  Recognizing, however, that higher turnout needs to be encouraged, states have taken steps to increase convenience.  Early voting, election-day registration, longer hours at polling stations, and sample ballots mailed in advance are some of the encouragements.

These efforts have nibbled at the edges of the problem but hardly turned the corner on apathy. What will it take to get a majority of eligible voters to the polls when  appeals to the better angels of civic involvement have failed?

A more successful approach might involve behavior modification, a dose of positive feedback, or even an appeal to the fun factor.  Why not combine them all?  Remember Australia’s $20 fine for not voting? Let’s turn the idea around.

Start by converting our voting machines into something less boring and unprofitable. Splash on a bit of bright color.  Add some bells, whistles, and pop music video-game style.  And a coin slot—Vegas style.

Imagine it.  It’s 2012. Go to your polling place. Get in line. Close the curtain. Mark your ballot. Drop your vote into the color-splashed machine.  Hold out your hand as twenty shiny dollar coins drop down into your waiting palm while musical accompaniment proclaims you a winner. Then slip out from behind that curtain feeling satisfied that you—as a privileged American voter—can walk away with a little more cash in your pocket just for showing up for a few moments to exercise a right that you take for granted, but that others in far-flung places around the world are fighting and dying for.

The post Voting counts. Maybe it should pay, too. appeared first on Occasional Planet.