Students and staff with the New Voters Project followed presidential candidates on the campaign trail. Wherever presidential candidates went, they heard from young people asking the candidates, “what’s your plan?”
The question exemplifies a youth-driven NJ PIRG Student Chapters’ project to engage young voters in the political process in order to cultivate life-long voters.
“Young people have voted at lower rates in part because candidates ignore their important issues,” said NJPIRG Student Chapters Board Chair and Rutgers student, Sarah Clader. “We’re showing candidates that young people will vote if presidential candidates engage them in conversations about the issues they care about. Issues like global warming, college affordability and financial security.”
In other news, NJPIRG Student Chapters volunteers worked with other groups to register more than 3,000 new voters before the state elections in the fall. In addition, a recent analysis of last year’s New Voters Project confirmed a successful new technique. Working with researchers from the University of Michigan, Princeton University and Working Assets, we found that text message reminders to new voters increased their likelihood of voting by 4.2 percentage points. Staff and volunteers will use this tactic as well as tried-and-true tactics to boost the youth vote in election cycles to come.
