The timing of the summer Democratic gubernatorial primary election may result in decreased voter turnout among college students, said Bruce Vlk, deputy director of programs for the University Center for Politics.
Vlk said voter turnout will be down across all age groups because “primaries typically appeal to the diehard partisans anyway,” but it may be more difficult to mobilize student voters when they are not on campus.
“We saw in the November presidential election the fact that students are gathered in one place, with the use of viral marketing, social networking, the get-out-the-votes efforts are much easier during the semester schedule,” Vlk said. “But it will present a challenge in June when the vast majority of students are out of school on vacation.”
As a result, the three Democratic candidates — Sen. Creigh Deeds of Bath County, Del. Brian Moran of Alexandria and Terry McAuliffe — are not taking the youth vote for granted, Vlk said. He noted that they are reaching out to constituents with social networking tools.
“The newer Web 2.0 social networking tools can certainly help to create a community when students are not physically together, but still there are gatherings and events and rallies and so forth that are still important,” Vlk said. “This gubernatorial primary will be a test to see if these new social networking tools can really get out the vote for the college age youth.”
All three Democratic campaigns are looking to capitalize on these networking tools and technologies to reach students while they are not physically at school.
The Deeds campaign is working to mobilize youth with Facebook, Twitter and text messaging, Deeds Campaign Manager Joe Abbey said. The campaign also is relying on grassroots organizations throughout the Commonwealth, including Students for Deeds, Abbey said.
“We will be utilizing them to help us find the voters when they go back home and they’re off of the campus,” he said. “It’ll be easier to find somebody’s fans if one of our activists knows where they live.”
Similarly, the Moran and McAufflife campaigns also are emphasizing grassroots organizations.
McAuliffe spokesperson Lis Smith said there are currently 12 chapters of Students for Terry across the state and two staffs dedicated to building a state-wide group.
“We are using our college chapters to reach out to young voters and to encourage them to use absentee ballots if they will not be in state at the time,” Smith said.
The Moran campaign will stress absentee ballots as well, Moran spokesperson Jesse Ferguson said.
The campaign for Bob McDonnell, the only Republican gubernatorial candidate, sees the contested Democratic race as an advantage, McDonnell spokesperson Tucker Martin said.
“Frankly, it allows us to run a general election campaign,” he said. “We’re talking to every voter in Virginia, while they’re talking to a very narrow, left-leaning base of the party.”
Vlk noted, though, that such targeted campaigning also have the potential to prove beneficial. Focusing a great deal on the youth vote in the upcoming election may be advantageous to the Democratic campaigns, he said, even if the timing of the party’s primary election is not conducive to significant student turnout.
“These campaigns are really relying on college age youths for their energy [and] for their time as far as volunteering in the campaign.”
The Democratic primary is scheduled for June 9. The winner of the Democratic nomination will face McDonnell Nov. 3.
—Daniel Boyle contributed to this article
Read More
Presidential search committee holds first meeting, introduces search firm
By Cecilia Mould | 20 hours agoBoard of Visitors Rector Rachel Sheridan also introduced external search firm Isaacson, Miller, which will assist the committee in their search for the University’s next permanent president.
Archivist Report on Jim Ryan
By Finn Trainer and Clara Franklin | 2 days agoArchivists Finn Trainer and Clara Franklin recount Jim Ryan's tenure as the 9th President of the University.
Why did Student Council vote no confidence in the Board of Visitors?
By Lauren Seeliger | 3 days agoUltimately, Dickerson said during the Aug. 8 meeting that the decision to draft this resolution was not easy but was necessary so as to fulfill Student Council’s role.
