red states rule
04-07-2008, 06:40 AM
It seems the youth vote once again will be a bust. The hype was great, but will it actually happen?
No campus surge for Obama in Pa.
By BEN ADLER | 4/6/08 7:03 AM EST
With 159 colleges and universities and approximately 680,000 students, Pennsylvania’s campus vote would appear to be Barack Obama’s ace in the hole in the state’s April 22 primary.
Yet in a tough contest where Obama will need every vote he can get, it’s unlikely that one of his most loyal constituencies will be able to provide him with much of a boost.
One reason is the nature of the state’s college students. With numerous nationally recognized schools ranging from elite, small liberal arts colleges such as Haverford College to the Ivy League’s University of Pennsylvania, not to mention enormous public universities such as Penn State, Pennsylvania is a net importer of students.
Many of those out-of-state students are registered to vote in their home states. Sean Coit, 20, a junior at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia and the news editor of the school newspaper, The Hawk, is among them.
Although he follows politics closely and is interning with a Democratic consultant in Philadelphia, he will not be voting in the Pennsylvania primary since he is registered to vote in Virginia at his parents’ house.
“A lot [of students] are voting absentee at home,” said Coit of his fellow out-of-state students.
Pennsylvania’s election rules also act to suppress the college vote. The state has a closed primary, which means only registered Democrats can vote. Since college-age young people are disproportionately likely to be registered as independents, that will serve to limit the number of students who can vote.
Pennsylvania’s approach is distinct from Iowa and New Hampshire, two states where college students turned out in force in part because voters were permitted to register on Election Day and also because the two contests were open to independents.
While the Obama campaign has embarked on an effort to register students in Pennsylvania, a late start has limited its effectiveness.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0408/9399.html
No campus surge for Obama in Pa.
By BEN ADLER | 4/6/08 7:03 AM EST
With 159 colleges and universities and approximately 680,000 students, Pennsylvania’s campus vote would appear to be Barack Obama’s ace in the hole in the state’s April 22 primary.
Yet in a tough contest where Obama will need every vote he can get, it’s unlikely that one of his most loyal constituencies will be able to provide him with much of a boost.
One reason is the nature of the state’s college students. With numerous nationally recognized schools ranging from elite, small liberal arts colleges such as Haverford College to the Ivy League’s University of Pennsylvania, not to mention enormous public universities such as Penn State, Pennsylvania is a net importer of students.
Many of those out-of-state students are registered to vote in their home states. Sean Coit, 20, a junior at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia and the news editor of the school newspaper, The Hawk, is among them.
Although he follows politics closely and is interning with a Democratic consultant in Philadelphia, he will not be voting in the Pennsylvania primary since he is registered to vote in Virginia at his parents’ house.
“A lot [of students] are voting absentee at home,” said Coit of his fellow out-of-state students.
Pennsylvania’s election rules also act to suppress the college vote. The state has a closed primary, which means only registered Democrats can vote. Since college-age young people are disproportionately likely to be registered as independents, that will serve to limit the number of students who can vote.
Pennsylvania’s approach is distinct from Iowa and New Hampshire, two states where college students turned out in force in part because voters were permitted to register on Election Day and also because the two contests were open to independents.
While the Obama campaign has embarked on an effort to register students in Pennsylvania, a late start has limited its effectiveness.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0408/9399.html