10.8 million young people voted in 2006, a nearly two million vote increase from 2002

Breaking News: Census Figures Confirm 2006 Jump in Young Voter Turnout

For the second major election in a row, 18-29 year olds' turnout was up in 2006, growing by nearly two million votes over 2002 levels

June 15, 2007- New data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that, for the second major election in a row, young voter turnout rose in 2006. An analysis of the data from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE)at the University of Maryland confirms early estimates of increased young voter turnout and finds that10.8 million 18-29 year olds voted in 2006, a nearly two million vote increase from 2002 levels (8.9 million). This is following young voters' large turnout increase in 2004, when 18-29 year olds cast 4.3 million more ballots than in 2000 and increased their turnout rate by nine percentage points, more than twice the overall electorate's 4-point increase. CIRCLE's analysis also shows that while turnout was up among voters of all ages in 2006 (by 1.7 percentage points), 18-29 year olds yet again increased their turnout by more, jumping by 3 percentage points from 2002 to 2006 - nearly twice the increase of the overall electorate.

"The official figures confirm that a new generation has arrived at the polls and is an electorate to watch in 2008," said Kat Barr, Research Director at Young Voter Strategies. "On Election Day 2006, 10.8 million 18-29 year olds voted, two million more than in the previous midterm election. The increased civic engagement and political interest of the Millennial Generation, outreach from campus and community organizations, and attention from campaigns and candidates in 2006 all came together to build on the momentum begun by big young voter turnout in 2004. Young adults are an electorate that campaigns and candidates must reach out to in order to win on Election Day 2008 and beyond."

In 2006, Young Voter Strategies coordinated 15 nonpartisan organizations, including the PIRGs' New Voters Project, Rock the Vote, Women's Voices. Women Vote., and Black Youth Vote!, to register more than 520,000 18-30 year olds. The three million dollar project, funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, constituted the largest nonpartisan youth-targeted registration effort in any midterm election. In addition, in 2006 several campaigns targeted young voters as part of strategies to win tight elections, as outlined in the new YVS publication Young Voter Mobilization Tactics II. Experts agree that the combination of an engaged generation, nonpartisan outreach, and campaign attention played a significant role in increased young voter turnout in 2004 and 2006, and will be key to young voter turnout in 2008.

For more information, see CIRCLE's factsheet or contact Kat Barr at Young Voter Strategies: 202-994-9528, katbarr@gwu.edu

More and More Young Voters

YDA has linked in several news articles today on their website. More young people are participating in our democracy, becoming political active and voting.

This is the energy that we are trying to work with to make our organization here stronger, and across the state.

Click on the Title of this post and it will take you to the YDA Article. The Article also links to this story from this weekend: Case Studies in Young Voter Mobilization from Future Majority. This article is discussing the same trend.

Check out this link from YDA. It also gives the links to lots of information that will help you when talking to people about what YDA, FYD's and the Leon County Young Democrats are trying to do, and when fundraising.

And this link is Democratic Party Youth Statistics

Some of the highlights:

• In the 10 most competitive 2004 battleground states, turnout was 64.4% among young voters, compared to 48% across all other states. Like older voters, young people will turn out in higher numbers when targeted.
• Young people care about politics. According to a recent Pew Research Center poll, 77% of 18-29 years olds say they are interested in local politics, up 28 points from 1999, and 87% are interested in national affairs.
• In 2006, young voters ages 18-29 supported Democratic candidates by an impressive 58%, six points higher than the voting-age population as a whole. Democrats made gains with young independents while Republicans lost ground with their young voters.
• Young people are increasingly self-identifying as Democrats. Unlike the general population, party identification has increased among young voters. In 2006, 43% of young voters called themselves Democrats as compared to 37% just two years ago. Among all ages, 38% identify as Democrats, up only two points from 2004.

I know it is a lot of links and things to read, but I hope that you take the time to look them over in the near future. The better educated we are, the better we can present ourselves in public. The more people will want to be a part of organization and work with us in the future.

Brevard County is trying to help in SD 3, you should too!

http://blog.brevardyoungdemocrats.org/2007/06/quick-update-brevard-can-help-in-sd3.html

Check out the Brevard YD blog post. Eddie, Beth and the rest of the Brevard YD's are working hard to help get the whole state motivated to call voters in the 3rd Senate District to make sure they are voting over the next 7 days.

Early voting started yesterday in SD 3. We need to make sure that everyone we know in SD 3 votes. If we turn out the voters we win!

If we win, then we are 1 seat closer to have the next Senate President be Sen. Al Lawson! And we have one more awesome Democrat in the state Senate!

Last night, Nora Herron, Barbara Henderson and Corinne Rubin hosted a great fundraiser for Suzan Franks. We are all working hard to make sure that Suzan, and the Democratic Party, win next Tuesday. I encourage you to do as much as you can also!

Get involved! Raise Money, Give Money, Canvass, Phone Bank, email! We can elect a Democrat in this seat!

Political notes from Tallahassee Democrat = All about local Democrats!

In today's Tallahassee Democrat, all of the Sunday political notes are about our local Democratic Party efforts! Announcing our Leon County YD local election results, DEC member Alan Williams candidacy, and promoting the Susan Franks fundraiser being planned by Leon County DEC members! Great job!

http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007706170321

Article published Jun 17, 2007

Young Democrats elect president
The Leon County Young Democrats elected former Florida Democratic Party Political Director Chris Petley as the group's new president for 2007-2008. The Young Democrats also elected other new officers in hopes of taking the organization in a new direction.

New officers are vice president Barbara Henderson, treasurer Alan Brock and secretary Corinne Rubin. The Executive Board members will each serve one-year terms. Board members will advise and organize more than 100 members of the LCYD as they prepare for the 2008 presidential election cycle.- Jeff Burlew

Mayor's aide runs for House seat
Alan Williams, the aide to Tallahassee Mayor John Marks, is running for the House of Representatives District 8 seat, which is being vacated by Rep. Curtis Richardson, D-Tallahassee, because of term limits.

He said in a fundraising letter to fellow Florida A&M University alumni that he and his family are excited about the run. He grew up on Tallahassee's south side.

"I am a product of Leon County Schools, having attended Hartsfield Elementary, Fairview Middle and Rickards High schools," he said. "I am a proud graduate of Florida A&M University, where I received my bachelor's of science and master's degrees in business. I am currently serving my second term as president of the Leon County Chapter of the FAMU Alumni Association, giving back to an institution that has given so much to this family."
He has served as Marks' aide for four years.

Franks fundraiser planned

A fundraiser for Suzan Franks, Democratic candidate for the District 3 state Senate seat, is set for 7 p.m. Monday at the home of Nora & Mark Herron, 503 South Ride. To make a reservation, send an e-mail to yogichi@gmail.com or call 425-5063.

Walking for Susan Franks

The Leon County Young Democrats had a strong showing today at the LCDEC Headquarters to walk for Susan Franks for Senate race. The election is coming up very soon, June 26, 2007, and we were out walking door to door in Indian Head Acres today. The response was great, there was a positive reactions at every door we knocked on.

Two of our local YD's, Beth Kennedy and Corinne Rubin, won tickets to the upcoming Collins Steel fundraiser that the Leon DEC is hosting. They won the tickets by knocking on the most doors.

We need to keep this energy going for the next two weeks, while we try to help Susan Franks win this election! We can do it! We will be walking again next week, and phone banking from now till the election. If you want to help call the Leon DEC at 850-577-DEMS .

If you need any more information about Susan Franks, check out her website: http://suzanfranksforfloridasenate.com/

I hope to see you around as we help take this Senate seat back for Democrats!

Quotes and facebook

I found this quote on a friends (Stephanie Ruby's) facebook page today, but she didn't attribute it to anyone. So I use www.yahoo.com to search it out real quick. Turns out it was an apple advertisement.

Gotta love apple...

“Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The trouble-makers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status-quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify, or vilify them. But the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."

~ Apple Computers, from "Think Different" Advertisement

I like it, so I am putting it out there for others to read. And this link to see:

http://www.the-human-race.com/movies/think_different.mov

Back up link, the sound is really low on this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAGrHI9Z-90

The LCYD Logo

You may have noticed that our blog has lost it logo.

Or, I guess, first you might have noticed that we haven't been posting as much as we use to. Well, I think we are back, posting, and keeping people up to date on local politics. Newly elected LCYD President Chris Petley is bringing back the energy that we have lacked for the past few months. I am really excited about the direction we are headed, I think that the YD's across the state are going to be a major player in the 08 election.

So, back to our logo, the hosting service that Blogger was using has changed, and our logo was removed. Blogger now encourages you to post your image in a post, and let that post host your image for all time.

I am very proud of the LCYD logo, and I want to see it in our title bar again, so I am posting the image here, and explaining why, in my typical, rambling, verbose way.

Good things are on their way.

ORSWCD Surprised by Unexpected Opposition

In a surprising turn of events, local democrat Sean McGlynn opposed efforts to protect local governments from the over-zealous efforts of the republican tax-cut plan.

The motion for The Ochlockonee River Soil and Water Conservation District to join other conservation districts in Florida to urge the state legislature to consider the valuable services provided by local governments as they make a decision about the tax reform was supported by Supervisor Thure Caire, a young elected democrat and former VP of the LCYD's, and Supervisor Gomez, a local engineer and republican.

Unfortunately, because McGlynn unexpectedly opposed the measure the motion failed to pass in a tie vote.

"The Conservation Districts are stronger when we can work together,” said Supervisor Caire, “this is a lost opportunity for Leon County to be a part of an important state-wide partnership.”

Elect Another D to the State Senate

I need your help to elect another Democrat to the State Senate in Suzan Franks (http://www.suzanfranksforfloridasenate.com).

This election presents us with an amazing opportunity, one that we cannot afford to waste. The primary results prove that this election will be won by the candidate that works the hardest—plain and simple.

I am asking for just a couple hours over the next few weeks to help us win. The election is only 12 days away—Tuesday, June 26th.

We are gathering on Saturday at 9:30am at the DEC office downtown to mobilize and canvass targeted precincts. Our State Senator Al Lawson and many other Democratic leaders will be participating. You should be a too.

It would be a great way to start off the new term of this organization if you would join us. We plan to return to the DEC office at around 12:00, so we are only asking for a few hours of your time.

In an election this close, every vote will count.

Please reply back to Chris@ChrisPetley.com one way or the other so we can have an idea about turnout.

Don’t wake up the day after the election thinking that you could have helped…we will see you Saturday at 9:30!

Leon County Young Democrats Elect Experienced Politicos

Democrats look to the future, election cycles, and restructuring youth involvement in Leon County politics

Tallahassee, FL – The Leon County Young Democrats (LCYD) elected former Florida Democratic Party Political Director, Chris Petley, as their new President for the 2007-2008 term late last week. The Young Democrats also elected a new vice president and secretary as they take the organization into a new direction.

“We have elected one of the most successful groups of young professionals in the recent history of Leon County Democrats,” said newly elected President, Chris Petley. “Our group includes a current DEC Chairman, and the statewide Young Democrat President, Alan Brock, as our Treasurer. Our Secretary is the Florida Democratic Party’s North Florida fundraiser and our Community Affairs Director, Corinne Rubin, is a Senate Democratic Legislative Analyst who is involved in a variety of well established charities in town. The new Vice President is an issues-based campaign expert in Barbra Henderson. With this group on the executive board, the possibilities are endless.”

The Executive Board members will each serve one year terms due to expire in June of 2008. The board members will advise and organize more than 100 members of the LCYD as they prepare for the 2008 Presidential election cycle.

"Our generation of leaders is young, innovative, energetic, and understands the need for democracy like no others,” said City Commissioner Andrew Gillum. “Ready to help elect the leaders of the future, this group recognize what is needed and will make their presence impressive and their voices heard.”

Also on the priority list are as three open State House seats (Ausley, Richardson, Kendrick), and the re-elections of Congressman Allen Boyd and Superintendent Jackie Pons.

"I would like to congratulate the new leadership of the Leon County Young Democrats," said Congressman Allen Boyd (D-FL). "As someone who has been in public service for 18 years, I am always excited to hear about people, especially young people, getting involved in our government and the political process. The participation and contribution of the people are what make our country so great, and I wish the newly-elected officers the best of luck as they work to organize the young Democrats in our area."

LCYD Executive Board Bios:

President, Chris Petley: The former Political Director of the Florida Democratic Party and the founder and president of the 20Twenty Futures Program, Chris brings an extensive knowledge about politics, campaigns and organizing young professionals that will be reflected in the broad range of activities undertaken by the LCYD.

Vice President, Barbara Henderson: An active member of the Democratic Executive Committee, Capitol City Women's Democratic Club, and the Democratic Club of North Florida. Ms. Henderson also has experience with issues-based campaigns as well as with candidates' elections.

Secretary, Sarah Smith: Currently a fundraiser in North Florida for the Florida Democratic Party and overall campaign veteran, Sarah brings experience in all facets of the political landscape in the Big Bend and beyond. Her contacts will bolster the LCYD as they grow into one of the pre-eminent organizations in Leon and the surrounding areas.

Community Affairs, Corinne Rubin: As a Legislative Analyst in the Florida State Senate and former lead fundraiser for the Florida Democratic Party and Leon County Cancer Society, Corinne is an expert at analyzing an organization’s needs and responding accordingly. Corinne will help the LCYD's to further establish a positive reputation within Leon County and the surrounding areas, by encouraging our members to get involved with community events that benefit the people of the big bend.

Treasurer, Alan Brock: The current statewide Young Democrat President, Alan’s skills at organizing are reflected at his current post organizing high school students in the anti-tobacco SWAT program and will strengthen the LCYD’s volunteer recruitment and management. Alan is also Chair of the Wakulla Democratic Executive Committee, and has lengthy experience running statewide ballot initiatives.

# # #

Congrats, and here is to a new year!!!

Congratulations to our newly elected Leon County Young Democrat officers:

President: Chris Petley
Vice President: Barbara Henderson
Political Affairs Vice President: Christian Ulvert
Community Affairs Vice President: Corinne Rubin
Administrative Vice President: Sarah Smith
Treasurer: Alan Brock

Good luck over the next year!

These officers will serve through June 2008!