Disclaimer: Content on the YP4 blog does not necessarily reflect the views of Young People For or People For the American Way Foundation. The views, ideas, statements or claims posted on this site by members of the public cannot in any way be attributed to either Young People For or People For the American Way Foundation.
The Nation/WireTap: "You Voted. Now What?" (You'll recognize some folks.)
You voted. Now what? Kristina Rizga of WireTap writes:
Many progressives hope that the elation and idealism that Barack Obama's campaign helped inspire will turn into a lifetime of community service. [...] And while the president and Congress deliberate policy and allocate funding, the direction of their work will depend, in part, on the continued grassroots activism of young people.
Blog the vote! (Yes, you!)
First off, call for help if you run into trouble today:
- Call 866-OUR-VOTE.
Election 2008: YP4 fellows in action!
As the country holds its breath — and stands in line at the polls — we're proud of the hard work our fellows have done to register voters and get out the vote.
Just a few examples:
YP4 website update: We're back! And we've extended the application deadline.
As you may have noticed, the YP4 website was down over the weekend.
Everything's up again, including password reminders and resets.
Because having two days without access to the site interfered with fellowship applications and nominations, we've extended the application deadline to October 28.
Think you're registered? Think again.
"When did you say you mailed in your voter registration form?"
"About two months ago," I said, ear pressed to the phone.
"That's not what I like to hear," she sighed.
New PSA: Celebrities say, "Don't vote!"
And the viral element sure seems to be working...
Spread the word about the YP4 fellowship!
So you’ve nominated every superstar college activist you know for the YP4 fellowship. (If you haven’t, nominate already!) Now what?
Calvin Williams and Matt Birkhold on WireTap: From slingshots to solutions
Our illustrious fellowship coordinator Calvin Williams and Matt Birkhold, whom you may remember from his guest blogging tenure, posted a piece on WireTap this week about the Republican National Convention (RNC) demonstrations.
Now it's easy to subscribe to the YP4 Blog.
As you may have noticed, the blog looks a teensy bit different today.
You can now subscribe just by clicking that Subscribe to the blog! link on the left.
You can also import this RSS feed into Facebook. Here's how:
- On the Notes page, select the "Import a blog" link on the right side of the page.
- Enter http://www.youngpeoplefor.org/blog/feed into the text box.
- Click "Save Settings".
Wondering what the heck an RSS feed is? Demystification:
Young voters are turning out. So where's the love?
Campus Camp Wellstone's Mattie Weiss just posted a scathing entry about the underresourcing of young voter organizing at a time when we have the potential to decide the presidential election.
She notes:
[N]umbers indicate that 6.5 million people under 30 voted in this year's primaries and caucuses, and that the overall youth vote has risen from 9 percent in 2000 to 17 percent in 2008.
Meanwhile, who are campaigns focusing on? Swing voters and “hockey moms.”