Young voters gain attention of candidates

Rock the Vote registered 600,000 new young voters since August.

COLUMBUS (AP) — Text messages trump yard signs and Facebook groups beat potluck dinners in the campaigns that Democratic rivals Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton plan to attract the youth vote in the Ohio presidential primary.

From high-tech messages to high-wattage celebrities, Obama and Clinton aggressively are competing for the young voters. Obama sent MTV personality Nick Cannon to campuses Thursday while Clinton’s daughter Chelsea rang conference calls coast-to-coast. Both candidates are trying to build turnout among the largely silent bloc through Web sites such as MySpace and Facebook.

“Even before the candidates threw their hats in the ring, [young voters] were incredibly engaged in following politics,” Heather Smith of Rock the Vote, a nonpartisan group that has registered 600,000 new young voters nationwide since August.

“It’s quite compelling. It’s a close race. Your vote might actually make a difference in this race. There are candidates reaching out to us as young people.”

The 46-year-old Obama has consistently attracted young voters’ interest and showed strength among voters under 45 in the Wisconsin primary. The 60-year-old Clinton, whose strongest support comes from older voters, refused to concede the younger demographic even after 11 consecutive losses in primaries and caucuses.

“When people actually get to see the candidates, they tend to go with the smarter choice, which is Hillary Clinton,” said Erik Meinhardt, 20, who heads a Students for Hillary group on Ohio State’s campus and volunteered for her in Iowa.

“I think the Hillary campaign folks have turned away from celebrity and more to substance.”

During his string of victories, Obama has been the clear choice for young voters, who hope they help him rack-up another in Ohio’s March 4 primary. It’s a demographic that has relatively low turnout — about half in 2004 — and could make a difference if members act.

That’s why college campuses across the state have been visited by youth-appealing celebrities on behalf of Obama, including Cannon, “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle” star Kal Penn and “Six Feet Under” actor Eric Balfour. The campaign hopes students come to see a celebrity and get involved after they hear the message.

“Every great thing and every monumental thing that has happened to this country, whether it be storming the beach at Normandy or starting some music festival called Woodstock, or whatever the thing was, it was done by young people,” Balfour told a crowd at Ohio State this week.

“We have the power to change our country. Young people fight wars and they build nations. We shouldn’t be excluded because we’re young.”

Clinton’s campaign had dispatched “Ugly Betty” star America Ferrera to rally students with Chelsea Clinton.

“I believe Hillary Clinton needs to be in the White House to protect our future,” Ferrera told students at California State University-Dominguez Hills. “She’s going to carry our voices into the White House.”

Chelsea Clinton planned to preview Thursday night’s debate in Texas by calling student groups, including ones in Ohio, to rally their support before she returned to the trail.

Those young voters could be key to Obama’s emerging as a winner in the ongoing delegate brawl between the two remaining Democratic rivals, especially as Clinton’s base of support — older voters, reliable and numerous — appears to be shrinking after her string of defeats.

Young voters, historically apathetic in voting in presidential races, are tuning in. Compared with the 2004 primaries, they doubled their presence in New Hampshire’s primary and tripled their turnout in Iowa and South Carolina this time.

In 2004, more young people cast ballots than any other time since 18-to-20-year-olds earned the right to vote in 1972. Turnout in 2004 was up 11 percentage points over 2000.

Even so, 47 percent of eligible 18-to-24-year-old voters didn’t cast a ballot that year.

Griffin Byers, who’ll vote for the first time this year, said he is supporting Obama, but he visited 71-year-old John McCain’s campaign event in northwest Ohio’s Perrysburg on Thursday.

“I’m not against McCain because he’s old. McCain does have the experience. It’s kind of a trade-off,” said Byers, 17.

But it’s Obama’s sense of optimism that prompted the high school senior to back the senator from Illinois.

“He’s very energizing and uplifting. He makes me want to be a part of politics,” Byers said. “He doesn’t make you feel like you’re voting against someone. He makes you feel like you’re voting for someone.”