Voters, Fighters, Citizens, Youth

“A lot of people are having a hell of a time putting a finger on what to do next,” says Chris Walla, guitarist for the indie rock band, Death Cab for Cutie. Over 50 percent of the youth in this country turned out in this election, and like a good portion of those, Walla is feeling somewhat unmoored. “When you get that far into a cause, it comes as a huge shock when something like this happens,” he explains.

Walla and his band members got involved in the effort to get out the youth vote last February. Soon, they were opening for Pearl Jam on MoveOn PAC’s Vote for Change Tour and playing shows sponsored by Music for America, a partisan non-profit that spent the year building what they call a “movement to unify youth culture and 21st century progressive political participation.”

“I’m certainly going to continue to be involved with MoveOn and Music for America,” Walla told AlterNet. He also reports that Death Cab singer Ben Gibbard is “fired up and writing political songs for the first time, which is really exciting.” For the time being, Walla says he plans to return his home town, Seattle, because he feels it’s where his activism and political influence is most needed now.

As November 2004 winds to an end and progressive artists and activists begin looking forward to turning the page on their calendars, the struggle isn’t about whether to stay engaged in politics, it’s more about how.

To begin with, there are the facts. While the youth vote didn’t deliver the presidential election for John Kerry, as many hoped it would, the turnout was undeniably high. Despite what some pundits and mainstream media sources were quick to suggest in the wake of the election, the percentage of eligible 18-29-year-olds who voted on Nov. 2 was the highest it's been since the voting age was lowered to 18 in 1972.

This high turnout didn’t just magically occur. Although the stakes were perhaps higher this year than they have been in the last few decades, more youth voted because it was what was asked – and at times demanded—of them. Countless massive efforts—from non-partisan and partisan groups alike – were made to reach out to young people in the months leading up to the election. Organizations like Citizen Change, The New Voters Project, The League of Pissed Off Voters and Music for America took to the streets, to the airwaves, and to concerts and churches, using all means available to spread awareness of the issues surrounding the election and the urgent need to exercise the right to vote.

The exit polls numbers speak for themselves: 21 million 18-29-year-olds voted on Nov. 2. Voters under 30 favored Kerry over Bush 54-45 percent. But what cannot be tabulated is the profound impact that activist groups made in communities all across this country. More than simply registering voters, these organizations started a dialogue among young voters (and potential voters) that might have a lasting effect on the political future of this country.

In the months prior to the election, it was hard to miss Citizen Change’s forceful, pseudo-ultimatum, “Vote or Die.” A project of Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, Citizen Change didn’t get off the ground until July of this year. Even with a late start, it’s hard to deny that the group did their part in getting out the vote, particularly in African American and inner-city communities. According to Alexis McGill, the group’s executive director, Citizen Change made a “tremendous impact” on youth voter turnout by tapping into pre-existing markets in order to reach their audience. They got DJs talking about politics on the radio (Clear Channel and Radio One are partners of Citizen Change), and they utilized the “mixed tape circuit” in order to spread their “Vote or Die” statement. Citizen Change also spoke to receptive audiences at churches and community centers. In the course of only four months, Citizen Change spent over four million dollars, primarily on street teams set on registering and informing voters. “We went to places politicians didn’t, to the point where we got calls saying people saw more ‘Vote or Die’ posters than posters for either Bush or Kerry,” says McGill.