Department head addresses College Democrats
The USU College Democrats held their opening social on Wednesday, where Dr. Michael Lyons of the Political Science department told students “the election, to a degree, rests in the hands of young voters.”
Lyons gave a presentation on the upcoming presidential election, beginning with reasons incumbent President Barack Obama could lose, the first being due to the young voter drop off.
Lyons said the upcoming election’s Democrat to Republican split is “just about as favorable as ever.”
He said 68 percent of young voters age 18 to age 29 voted in favor of Obama during the last election. This year, 60 percent of young adults are registered voters, and of them 56 percent say they definitely will vote, he said.
Another reason Obama could lose the vote include is because Americans associate the rise in price with the Obama administration, but it’s “preposterous” to blame the current president, Lyons said.
The heath care act is another consideration, Lyons said.
“Republicans have misled the American people brilliantly and created a pretty high level of opposition to it,” Lyons said, speaking of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Aside from these factors, Lyon said one stands out among all the rest.
“The economy is the major problem,” Lyons said.
Despite these reasons, Lyons said Obama will be a likely winner. He said Obama has no vulnerability on national security and he has the voter’s preference for divided party control. Lyons said another reason Obama may win is because presidential incumbents almost always win. He has the Latino vote, Lyons said, which proved very important for him in 2008.
“I think Obama is going to win,” Lyons said.
Travis Johnson, vice president of the USU College Democrats and a junior majoring in law and constitutional studies, said the group is mainly to get students more interested in politics.
“We’re not super concerned with your political affiliation,” Johnson said. He said it’s far easier to be a visible Republican in Utah because Republican ideas are passed down.
“We think that there are a number of Democrats out there or people who maybe align more with the democratic ideals than Republican but don’t really know what those are yet and they don’t know that there’s a place for them,” Johnson said.
He said it is not really black and white ground, and there are a lot of people in the middle.
“We want to give them the chance to come out and maybe join up,” Johnson said.
Johnson said election years present a number of different ways students can get involved, by passing out literature, doing phone banks and calling potential voters.
“If you can identify a campaign you want to help out on, campaigns are always looking for interns and vo
lunteers,” Johnson said. “If you’re not sure that you’re ready to be that committed you can just come out to events, where you can register to vote.”
Social media is a great way to be active, Johnson said. He said to read non-biased news sources and to follow candidates and campaigns on Twitter and Facebook.
Ryan Braeger, a second-year graduate student in the history program, is working on the Scott Howell for U.S. Senate campaign. Braeger said students can earn academic credit for service hours and it is a great way to build a résumé.
Students can contact Carol McNamara for more information on service opportunities. The USU College Democrats will be holding meetings two to three times a week throughout the semester, as well as hosting other events and service projects. Booths will be set up in front of the Taggart Student Center Sept. 10-14 where students can register to vote. There will be a debate and opportunity to meet candidates Ed Redd and Doug Thompson Sept. 19 at 7 p.m in the Eccles Conference Center.
– tmera.bradley@aggiemail.usu.edu