More Than the Presidency

The sad fact of every election is drop off. No, it's not that disease that happens when your arm falls off. Drop off is when people only vote in the presidential race, ignoring everything else on the ballot. Many people each election either don't know who the other candidates and propositions are, or don't feel they are educated enough to make a decision.

This has to stop. What good is it to only focus on the presidency and ignore the local issues and politicians who have a day-to-day impact on your life?

So some folks at the ACLU Foundation in California have started a non-partisan campaign to connect with young voters and ask them to pledge that they will "go all the way" (no pun intended) on November 4.

This week the ACLU Foundation launched a Facebook Application that I am a big fan of, as well as a website and SMS campaign where people can text their pledges to friends.

The best part is the chance to win a free Nintendo Wii if you recruit tons of people to the application.

Onward Oregon, in conjunction with the Bus Project, is also encouraging folks to Fill Out Your Whole Ballot by asking for a pledge:

"As excited as we all are by the Presidential and Senate races, here in Oregon we have some very important local races, the outcomes of which are likely to have a profound impact on the direction our state takes. Each of your votes is important, and participation becomes critical the further “down” the ballot you look."

At their website Whole Ballot, anyone from any state can sign up to pledge to vote the whole ballot online.

The same is true for the League of Conservation Voters in Oregon who published this recent video assuming success for Obama and reminding voters that the new president will need "a team behind him":


Also, in a poem to young voters, vlogger Jay Smooth recently admonished folks against getting overwhelmed by the pre-election excitement, only to drop the ball on election day:



I assume that ya'll know what you're doing because you read Wiretap. Therefore, you should pledge today! Friends don't let friends drop off.

Keepin' it Rural

What is up world! You've met me before - now hear me when I tell you I'm going to bring you some hot blogging action right here at Rock the Vote!

This election season I'm covering some of the hottest issues from rural America. That's right, I'm keepin' it rural, baby! Everything from the coolness of food and cows to things like broadband and wifi in the sticks. Not to mention some great info about the environment and how folks are "greening" our world with green jobs, alternative fuels and energy, and the efforts implemented by our own generation to save the planet our parents have totally screwed up. That's right, ya'll, its up to us!

Specifically I'm excited to look at why there is no broadband internet access in rural areas. Another highlight for me is that I will get to report from the first ever green city in Greensberg, Kansas! I also hope to speak with young people living on Native American reservations about their involvement in their communities. Most kids want to get out of town as soon as they graduate from high school. I'd like to talk to young Native Americans about how they manage to push away that common urge to fly from the nest and instead choose to stick around and make their community stronger and better.

I'm also addressing the serious concerns we all have about our economy. Times are tough and our generation is getting hit hard with soaring gas prices, student loans, home foreclosures and you don't even want to get me started on the price of coffee.

Other important issues are the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I'll be talking specifically with soldiers coming back home, some folks who are headed that way, soldiers from the first Iraq War and their perspectives, as well as taking a serious look at the ways in which we can step up to take care of our troops. We hear a lot of stories about what is happening, but we don't ever get any kind of follow up on what has been done, how people are organizing around specific issues, or the end result. I hope to bring you that information and comments from the troops themselves.

This is a great upcoming election for us! Not only do we have a multitude of issues that our generation is becoming involved in, but we are standing up to take action on those issues. We also have a number of folks our age running for office to make a difference that way. I will strive to bring you all the information on young candidates that I can find and perhaps even help you see how their perspectives are different from the older candidates'. Who knows, maybe my stories will inspire you to run some day, too!

Hit me up with ideas and questions - but comment and keep the convo going. Its all about the conversation!