Recent News

January 3, 2008                                                                                    

11:00 PM

Despite the winter break caucus date, cold temperatures, long lines and delays due to high turnout, young people flocked to the caucuses and made their voices heard.

According to CNN entrance polls, youth will account for nearly 22 percent of the Democratic caucus turnout, a five percent increase over 2004. Fifty-seven percent of youth voted for projected Democratic winner Barack Obama, while 40 percent voted for projected Republican winner Mike Huckabee.

“Young people are incredibly engaged and they turned out in force today,” said Ellynne Bannon, Director of Iowa PIRG’s New Voters Project.  “Two-hundred and fifty Iowa PIRG college volunteers made five thousand personalized, peer to peer voter turnout contacts to get young people to turn out to the caucuses tonight and it worked."

Expert analysis shows that peer-to-peer, get out the vote efforts are the most effective youth turnout methods.

Young voters across the state reported rooms filled with energized and excited young voters, eager to participate in the caucuses for the first time.  Young people at Iowa City Precinct 3, reported overflowing rooms filled with young voters, a shortage of seating and delays of more than 40 minutes due to unanticipated youth turnout.

“Today’s results show that while it might be winter break, the youth vote is working overtime,” said Stacey Wilson, a freshman at Drake University and student leader with Iowa PIRG’s Rock the Caucus campaign.   Wilson was one of 250 student ‘Caucus Rock Star’ leaders who visited classrooms, stormed dorms and stopped students on the way to class to mobilize young people to turnout to the caucuses.

The increase in youth turnout comes despite a winter-break caucus date that made it tougher for students to participate.

“The take home message of tonight is that when young people are engaged, they will show up on Election Day,” concluded Bannon.

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Iowa PIRG is a student organization that works to solve public interest problems related to the environment, consumer protection, and government reform. www.iowapirgstudents.org

Iowa PIRG’s New Voters Project is the state’s premier non-partisan youth voter mobilization program. Since 2004, Iowa PIRG’s New Voters Project has used time tested and academically reviewed methods to register nearly 54,000 18-30 year olds to vote and made 95,000 personalized voter turnout contacts via phone or face to face to encourage young people to vote.  Due in large part to our work in 2004 voter turnout among 18-29 year old Iowans increased by 8 percent, to 59%, over 2000 turnout. More information on Iowa PIRG’s New Voters Project.

Rock the Caucus is a joint campaign of Iowa PIRG, Rock the Vote, and Iowa Secretary of State Michael A. Mauro to mobilize thousands of young Iowans to take part in the Iowa caucuses.