WeWantToWinVille
Young Lotuslandian PoliSci guy David Moscrop wrote the following awhile back in an OpEd for Postmedia:
...(T)he 2011 federal election saw 75 per cent of Canadians aged 65-74 vote, compared to just under 39 per cent of those aged 18-24 — in lock-step with a trend that goes back at least a decade...
And what's my point, here?
Well....
It's all about the party preference splits, by age category.
Here's a recent take from Bruce Anderson's Abacus:
So.
Do you understand what this means?
Old progressive leaning people like me (and most of you) will not change the government on October 19th, at least not on our own, even if we manage get more of us out to the polls.
Instead, it's the kids we need to get out on our lawns, on their bikes/Car2Gos, and into a voting booth.
Because they want to vote to make the change, they just haven't been doing it.
OK?
_______
Young Mr. Moscrop's numbers are backed by data from Elections Canada...And I'm pretty sure you can carry this line of thinking out to those slightly older kids in the 25-34 age group as well...
Don't get me wrong, I, personally, still think there is something 'strategic' we old folks can do...More on that later...
.
17 comments:
If young people are motivated they will do it like Pink Fairies, get out to vote that is. Spoke with just such a young person yesterday. Like 29 or something. She told me, "I don't know enough about it." I told her, "You think I do? All you have to know is the difference between crap and not crap. That is just about all any of us know who vote. Vote for Not Crap or you get Crapped On."
SH
Money is the sweetest honey in the world: the NDP should pay young people to work on other aspects of the campaign than canvassing...they paid great young people to canvass our riding. The kids need the money and the seniors who volunteer to put up signs drop leaflets etc are not getting any younger. The NDP could also offer poll-sci students an opportunity to shadow candidates as they campaign. Plant some seeds...
Beer--
That's some motto.
The Crap/Not Crap one I mean.
______
SH--
Re: How to win the ground game with whippersnappers...Eby, 2013.
(and 2011, too actually)
.
Oh yeah...let's pin our hopes on the youth vote again because it's always worked out so well in the past.
SH:
Dana, I was an engaged youth, eager to help. The NDP sent me and a friend to a short-handed riding outside our own to help and the candidate didn't give us the time of day. Young people have far more to offer and must be made to feel welcome and useful.
There is another poll reported at the end of this Straight Goods posting.
http://powellriverpersuader.blogspot.ca/2015/08/stephen-harper-like-zebra-striped-for.html
A Forum Research poll
Cheers
Thanks Ross K. for this info and links. And you are absolutely correct in your observation about the 2013 Eby campaign. I said correct because I didn't like the juxtaposition of the words "absolutely" and "right".
SH
Eleanor:
Clever!
What we have to remind them is that the multiple layers of government takes almost half of every dollar they make. Why would you not pay attention to what they are doing? The problem is that most people are stupid. That is all.
Ross: Okay, my father of 4 children under the age of 3, was drafted into WWII. When he came home with a backpack and walked in our driveway, I (the oldest) did not know who he was! My siblings and I were backing up in the yard as he walked down our driveway. He finally said to me "It's Daddy" How many of our current voter-aged citizens have experienced something like that? Many of my friends' fathers did not come back, so I was luckier. Anyhow, my parents taught all of us (7 in total) that it was our responsibility to vote. When I married, my spouse had never voted and I was shocked, to say the least. I brought up our 2 children that the were obligated to be informed and to vote (because my father had risked his life for democracy). My son and his wife (her father was in WWII) also brought up their 3 children to vote (and they do). It is the responsibility of all parents to teach them the value of democracy, and their to vote, no matter what party/person they support. I can't, in all conscience blame the younger generation who are not informed, not engaged, and therefore do not vote, because in my humble opinion, their parents only performed a small part of what I view is a parental responsibility. I rest my case!
Anonymous...so what did you do about it? Did you go back to the candidate's office and tell them what you just said here? Did you go to a different adjacent riding and volunteer for a candidate there?
If you want to get involved then GET INVOLVED. Stop waiting for a welcoming committee or a brass band. Neither will happen.
SH
@Dana.
In polite society when someone offers you help, you either accept it, or decline it graciously. It is not reasonable to expect a young person, still wet behind the ears, to make comments about a popular, accomplished authority figure. I was not raised to expect special treatment. There is no excuse for bad manners or agism. We need to mentor the young, guiding them with respect and consideration.
And yes, I did volunteer: putting lots of miles on my trainers delivering leaflets and later organizing other volunteers.
I've been telling all the young folks I meet this is the first election in a long while where the "youth vote" can make the biggest and most important impact---yes, that's right, bigger than any other demographic, and more important too. " In other words," I say," your vote would actually count for a lot even just by closing your eyes and marking the ballot, but a real lot more than that if you vote to get rid of Harper."
You'd think stuff like student loans'd be high on the list of beefs, but TFW issue definitely hits a negative nerve. Far and away top ranking issue for young people is the environment. What concerns me is their ambivalence (prob'ly trying to conceal confusion) about vote-splitting and about electoral systems; perhaps some not having a full grasp of electoral reform issues, I've noted some youthful opinion recommending spoiling ballots to "show the government" young people aren't happy with First Past The Post ( volunteer co-op radio-hosts at CHLY-FM Malaspina aired such notions a few times on the weekend), even noted that some think it's already pro-rep---or will be if the Greens "become government." Obviously there's some potential to improve here. Fortunately I've also noticed quite a few young people organizing to vote strategically to get rid of Harper. And given it's a long campaign, it'd be a good time to start improving in these areas pronto.
scotty--
Ya.
My one twinge is with the really young whippersnappers where you can see that Green Party party bulge.
I'm starting to wonder if we should downplay the Dipper/Lib strat and just go full bore on the Dipper/Green, especially where it really matters...Could be a real important one in, for example, Victoria where the former MoCo newGreen lady could spell trouble for the enviro-Dipper incumbent MRankin.
.
SH
As the election progresses I believe Justin will win over the youth vote lost to the NDP.
If the comments on the inter-webs are anything to go by, Elizabeth May's celebrity has lost some of its lustre, so she needs to go to Plan B. She knows well, how high the stakes are for Canadians and I doubt Elizabeth wants to reprise Nader's role as a spoiler. I predict that after the debate, she'll throw her party's lot in with Justin. So, what is it to be, Elizabeth May Leader of the Green spoiler Party or The Right Honourable Elizabeth May, Minister of Environment?
Ross K...I have been thinking about the youth vote, how to get them to vote..Maybe the answer is simple..
Tell the youth of today that they can`t vote, that they are not allowed, barred from voting..
Teenagers, when you tell them not to do something guaranteed they disobey and do it anyway..
So yes, the youth don`t vote, but I can guarantee if a campaign was launched promoting a barring of the youth vote there would be outrage among the youngers, they would demand to have their rights returned..
Reverse physcology
Grant--
Just like the million or so expats that have been told they can't has become a big deal despite the fact that, apparently, less than 10 thousand of them actually voted last time out.
.
Post a Comment