Why I Think Young Voters Are Democrats’ Secret Weapon In The Dec 2nd Election in Georgia

There is no shortage of national organizations that are pouring a little money but mostly people and people-resources (like phone bankers) from other states into Georgia for our Runoff Election. Some of these efforts are coordinated like DPG’s, and some are not. What worries me is this question: Are we casting a wide-enough Net to reach the number of voters we really need to come out on December 2nd?

Young People stand at a unique spot in time. We have access to other young voters in Georgia that other groups may not. How do I know? I can open my cell phone and scroll to find them, or I can go to my Facebook and Myspace page to see them, or a Young Democrat can look across his or her classroom and find them. They are our friends and close friends, and WE are the only ones who can get them to vote on December 2nd.

They won’t be phone banked or canvassed or lit-dropped. They aren’t on anyone’s radar, they’re new. Chances are they voted already on November 4th but have no clue, even with the mountain of TV ads running, that their help is needed again.

Young Democrats of Georgia has launched an ambitious campaign to get all our members to open their friend networks and get other Young People out to Vote. We would like to expand this even more by:

1. Expanding online advertising (which is relatively cheap!) to encourage more Young People to get their friends to vote on December 2nd

2. Giving access to our Young Democrats in other states to call in and get our Young Voters out to vote. YDG can do this pretty inexpensively comparative to other campaigns thanks to tools like Activate.

3. Run our Pledge Program to get our members to get their friends out to Vote on December 2nd.

We’re estimating the cost of a full program over the next 13 days would run about $9,500 to $10,000. What do y’all think? If it’s worthwhile, throw YDG some coin to make it happen.

When Young People talk to other Young People about voting, and voting for Democrats and get those Young People to vote, Democrats win, plain and simple. We started a Young Voter Revolution on November 4th with an estimated 66% of voters ages 18-29 picking Democratic candidates over Republicans, will you help us continue this movement?