EDITOR'S NOTE: This is part of a series of stories examining area residents' views about the November election.
For Gena Goodman-Campbell, trying to get 18- to 24-year-olds registered to vote is a full-time job.
And as a campus organizer for the Oregon Student Public Interest Research Group, a public advocacy group, she has her work cut out for her.
Goodman-Campbell, 22, is trying to encourage students on the campus of Central Oregon Community College and Oregon State University-Cascades to fill out voter registration forms in time for the November election.
By Friday, she had registered about 30 people since classes started in mid-September.
"It's tough on a campus where people are so busy," she said.
Goodman-Campbell is trying to mobilize a difficult demographic. Election turnout among 18- to 24-year-olds - never high to begin with - has been steadily declining since the voting age dropped to 18 in 1972, according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), a group which collects and funds research on young American civic and political participation.
In the 1972 presidential elections, voter turnout among people ages 18 to 29 was 58 percent nationwide. In 2000, the rate went down to 46 percent nationwide, according to CIRCLE data. But there was an upswing in the 2004 pressidential elections, with 47 percent of 18- to 24-year-old citizens voting and 66 percent of citizens 25 and older voting nationwide, according to CIRCLE's Web site, www.civicyouth.org.
Although midterm elections usually float statewide and local measures that are more likely to affect people, turnout for those elections is usually even lower. In 1974, 32 percent of voters ages 18 to 29 voted nationwide. In 2002, only 26 percent of people ages 18 to 29 voted nationwide, according to CIRCLE data.
The statistics reflect a general apathy among young voters.
But Carson Schubert, a 19-year-old business major at COCC, is enthusiastic about his newfound rights.
"I'm really excited, because every vote makes a difference," said Schubert, who will vote for the first time in November. "I want to be interested in everything." Votersproject.org, a Web site operated by national the Student Public Interest Research Groups, tries to get young voters educated and motivated to vote. The Web site points out that most political candidates address issues that mostly affect seniors, like drug benefits and Social Security.
"The politicians' strategy is not surprising - they're not talking to people our age because we don't usually vote," the Web site reads.
"You're seeing this vicious cycle of young people not voting and politicians not paying attention to what they say," Goodman-Campbell said. "The issues that we care about are not being voiced."
The 22-year-old graduated in May with a degree in political science. In Portland, she worked for OSPIRG's New Voters Project, registering young people to vote for the 2004 presidential elections.
Pounding the pavement
In trying to break the cycle, Goodman-Campbell doesn't have a pushy salesman's pitch or a condescending tone.
While many of the students eyed her warily and walked faster when she approached, some did not. And those are the ones who make Goodman-Campbell's day.
On a crisp fall day recently, Michael Myers and Jeff Rogers, both 19, were getting ready to play Frisbee when Goodman-Campbell approached them.
The two friends had very different opinions about voting in November.
Myers, a business major who registered to vote three months ago, feels like voting is "pretty much an obligation."
He said he was not yet aware of the ballot measures and did not have a clear idea of how he would vote next month.
"I haven't really looked at it much," he said.
But Jeff Rogers, an Emergency Medical Services major from Hawaii, said he is staunchly opposed to the voting procedure.
"I actually wrote an essay about not voting," Rogers said. "I don't really care for it too much."
He would prefer a Communist approach to government, he said.
Rogers said he avoids voting because he distrusts politicians, saying they often fail to deliver on their promises.
"I also think it's lame that I can legally die for my country but not be allowed to drink," he said. "I'd rather drink at 18 than vote at 18."
What are their issues?
Matt Hoffman, a fresh-faced COCC business student, registered to vote with Goodman-Campbell last month.
While he could have voted in the 2004 presidential election, he said he waited to make sure his family's beliefs were not influencing his decision.
Now 20, Hoffman said he was unfamiliar with many of the specific measures on the upcoming ballot. But he has a general idea of what he wants: More tuition help from state coffers.
"As a student, man, I'm looking for some resources from the state," he said.
While he does not know which specific ballot measures would help increase state funding to colleges, Hoffman plans to read the voters pamphlet before casting his vote.
In fact, eight of the 10 measures on November's ballot could affect college students in some way, said Courtney Sproule, communications director for the Oregon Student Association. Sproule's group is a nonpartisan nonprofit that advocates for college students. The group is organizing an educational campaign to help students understand these issues. A guide is posted on the group's Web site, www.orstudents.org.
Measure 41, known as federal substitution, would reduce state income taxes by rewriting the tax code to match federal tax cuts enacted by the Bush administration. While it would save taxpayers money, it would cost the state about $792 million over the next biennium, Sproule said. That is money that could be going to state colleges and universities.
Measure 48 would amend the state Constitution by limiting growth in the state budget to "population," a formula that takes into account inflation plus population growth over a two-year cycle. That measure could cost the state $2.2 billion in the next biennium, Sproule said. If it became retroactive, it would cost $4.9 billion.
"I don't even know what all is being voted about," said Kristine DeWilde, 20, a general education major. "Obviously, I'm really concerned about the school issues."
She said she will also examine the gubernatorial candidates' stances on the environment.
Kevin McCann, 21, registered with Goodman-Campbell on Thursday.
"I'm just killing time, I guess," he said of his decision to register Thursday. "And I didn't vote last time ... I got a lot of crap for that."
McCann said he would support more money in education.
"I'm into music, and that's usually one of the first things they cut," he said.
Stormie Hulsey, a nursing major, also registered on Thursday when Goodman-Campbell approached her between classes.
Between a full-time class schedule and two jobs, Hulsey said she had trouble finding time to register.
But having registered now, she does plan to have her say.
"Voting is like a patriotic duty," she said.
She thought a moment before discussing her thoughts on the ballot.
Measure 43, which requires parental notification before an abortion can be performed on a minor who is 15 or older, resonated the strongest with her.
"I think people should have the right to do what they want with abortions, but if you're only 16, your parents should have some say," she said.
Lindsay Griffin, 18, said she would likely vote in favor of the Bend-La Pine Schools construction bond. If passed, the proposed $119 million bond would be used to finance three new schools and large-scale maintenance projects throughout the district's existing schools.
Griffin recently graduated from Bend High School, where classes of 45 students were not uncommon. But she felt that the schools would be better served by building one new school and spending more money to hire teachers and improve the arts.
"I was in wind ensemble, and we hardly ever had enough money to fix instruments," she said.
Glimpse of optimism
Students in John Nehl's American government class at Mountain View High School are becoming more aware of the world around them, he said.
"I really think with the situation in world politics, there's a lot more interest than there has been," he said. "I think it's because of the war."
As many of his students consider the military, the impact of the war is starting to hit home, he said.
Nehl provides voter registration forms and will go through the voter's pamphlet to explain the measures.
People like Goodman-Campbell and Nehl may be making a difference.
In 2004, the New Voters Project, a national project of the student public interest research groups, registered 524,000 young voters nationwide. These efforts contributed to increasing the voter turnout among 18- to 24-year-olds by 11 percent. This was the largest increase in youth voting since 18-year-olds got the right to vote, Goodman-Campbell said.
And some young voters who will fill out a ballot for the very first time appear excited about the new opportunities.
"I'm stoked, I'm ready," Hoffman said. "Doesn't it make a difference, one by one?"
