Winners of an essay contest for 18- to 24-year-olds will have the opportunity to speak during prime time at the Democratic and Republican conventions this summer.
The MTV cable channel’s “Choose or Lose” campaign and both party chairmen — Ed Gillespie of the Republican National Committee and Terry McAuliffe of the Democratic National Committee — announced the contest yesterday.
Both parties are targeting younger Americans in their voter-registration efforts. Recent studies indicate that more young voters will participate in the presidential election this year, Mr. McAuliffe said.
“I was pleased to see a recent Harvard study predicting that some 62 percent of young people could participate in this year’s election,” he said.
Numerous studies during the past 30 years show young people barely cracking the surface of their voting potential in the three previous presidential elections. Fewer than 40 percent of those registered voters participated.
“As party chairmen, we have a unique responsibility to bring new people into the party, and there are more young voters out there that are undecided than any other group,” Mr. Gillespie said.
A recent poll conducted by Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government showed that young voters largely do not subscribe to the ideals of either Democrats or Republicans. And there are at least 30 million people from 18 to 30 who are not registered.
“Young people are up for grabs this year. ’Choose or Lose’ is primarily focused on getting more people involved in the debate,” said MTV News correspondent Gideon Yago.
MTV’s goal this year is to get 20 million new voters registered. The “Choose or Lose” campaign is entering its 12th year, and the program already has interviewed Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry.
“We have also extended an invitation to President Bush, and we hope to bring that interview to our audience soon,” Mr. Yago said.
Bill Clinton was the first candidate and president to appear on the program in a dialogue with young voters.
Contestants in the Democrats’ “Speak Out for the Future” contest will have to answer the question “Why should politics be important to the younger generation, and how can youth get more involved?” The Democratic convention will be in Boston July 26-29.
The Republicans’ “Stand up and Holla” contestants will have to answer the question “Why is the president’s call for community service important, and how have you demonstrated it?” The Republican convention will be in New York Aug. 30-Sept. 2.
Ten finalists will be selected in both contests by the parties, and the public will vote for the winners based on taped segments to be telecast on MTV.
“If we can get people to sign up and vote Republican at 18, that goes a long way to building loyalty over a lifetime,” Mr. Gillespie said.
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