Even those under 18 can get involved in elections

Romney Campaign Headquarters: 4807 University Ave., Suite 103

 

Volunteering emphasizes the importance of an election and how it affects everyone. When people are engaged and involved, people make the right choices.
“The prime responsibility of all our volunteers is to make sure that people have the tools and resources and information they need to re-elect our president,” Obama campaign volunteer Annie Bluester said. “Volunteering for a campaign is very different from volunteering for anything else. It’s a civic responsibility and a civic duty, and it’s a right that we have.”

Volunteers are involved in many areas of the political experience. Some tasks are going door to door to ask residents if they are registered to vote and if they can vote early. “We’re really emphasizing voting early in Iowa. It’s really important to get that push out there, because a lot of times people can’t make it to the polls on election day,” Bluester said.
Early voting started on Sept. 23. Some states require reasons to cast an early vote, but Iowa requires no reasons. For those who are not sure that they can make it to the polls on Nov. 6, they can print out an absentee ballot at http://sos.iowa.gov/elections/electioninfo/absenteeinperson.html.

Those under 18 are still encouraged to volunteer. As long as they are comfortable with the work they are doing, they are welcome to help. The willingness to want to make a difference is what drives young volunteers. “Any age is perfectly fine as long you understand what you’re doing,” Bluester said.

Young people can get involved in many ways. The Obama campaign needs stage directors for certain events held. “We have people that just man a table so that they can direct people to get packets and go out into the city and tell them how to knock doors,” Bluester said. Anyone can join a hospitality team, make phone calls or canvass door to door.

Black Hawk County Democrats Headquarters: 512 Mulberry St., Waterloo

Some key issues in the election revolve around the future of our generation. Education and paying for college is an issue close to the hearts of high school students.
“I went to on a Pell grant. I have three sisters, and there is no way we would have been able to pay for college ourselves,” Bluester said.
Many people don’t know that the funding for Pell grants doesn’t increase tax dollars. “It’s just an allocation of funds,” she added.
According to Bluester, just being aware of the issues is important, and she particularly noted that health and health care also affects the lives of young voters greatly. The difference between a voucher system and Obamacare is major, and knowing how it affects young people is very important, she said.

NOTE: The Republican campaign did not comment on any volunteering for those under age 18 when consulted for this story, except to say that they’re interested in having high school students volunteer.

Class of 2014

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.