News Releases

For Immediate Release:
4/21/07

Contact:
Dave Rosenfeld, Student PIRGs Program Director, 310-210-8410, daver@studentpirgs.org

Ellynne Bannon, Student PIRGs’ New Voters Project Director, 202-468-7635, ebannon@studentpirgs.org

With youth vote on rise, students press candidates to outline plans to address global warming, higher education, health care and financial security.

Student leaders here and in all four of the early primary states called upon the presidential candidates to focus on young voters by outlining detailed plans on key youth issues.    The national campaign, called “What’s Your Plan?” asks candidates to reach out to youth on two priority issues – global warming and higher education.

“The youth vote is on the rise.  Candidates should reach out and connect with young people on the issues we care about,” said Sarah Clader, Rutgers University student and Regional Campaign Coordinator.

Youth voting has undergone a significant transformation over the past two election cycles.  In 2004, young voter turnout was up 11% over 2000 levels - a rate three times higher than the general population.  In 2006 young voter turnout increased by 2 million votes while turnout among all ages only moderately increased.

The Student PIRGs predict that youth voter turnout will continue to increase in 2008.

Students used today’s Earth Day events to highlight their message, pointing to the surge of student activity on global warming on and off campuses this year.  Just last week, students played a major role in coordinating the over 1400 “Step It Up” events around the country calling on our leaders in Washington, DC to address global warming issues.

“This is a critical election for our generation and for climate legislation, and our next President has the greatest power to lead the way. But to lead the way, candidates need to have a comprehensive plan, one that has substance, not just hot air ,” said Courtney Fryxell, National Coordinator, Student Conservation Voters.

“Young people have been leaders on global warming from the beginning.  We’re working every day with students who are pressing their campuses to fight climate change.  We expect candidates for president to have concrete plans right now, so they will be ready to wage this fight from their first day in office,” said Emily Hawkins, Issues Campaign Manager for Campus Progress Action.

Students in brightly colored What’s Your Plan? t-shirts and signs asked candidates from both parties questions about their plan for global warming in the four early primary states, California, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, and many other locations around the country.

“Like global warming, we will be everywhere this primary season turning up the heat on the candidates about the issues students care about,” said Ellynne Bannon, Student PIRGs’ New Voters Project Director.

The What’s Your Plan? campaign marks the beginning of a concentrated effort to turn out hundreds of thousands of new student voters for the 2008 general elections.  The Student PIRGs’ New Voters Project plans to work in twenty-five states, on 220 college campuses to register 260,000 new voters and make over half a million voter contacts leading up to Election Day.  If successful, the What’s Your Plan? campaign will get candidates to talk about youth issues well in advance of the general election amplifying the impact of those voter contacts and giving all youth the attention they need to motivate them to the polls in 2008.

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The Student Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs) are, non-partisan, student directed, state-based organizations that work to solve public interest problems related to the environment, consumer protection, and government reform.
www.studentpirgs.org  

What’s Your Plan? is a project of the Student PIRGs’ New Voters Project and allied youth organizations.  The Student PIRGs’ New Voters Project is the nation’s largest youth voter registration and mobilization campaign.  The goal of the project is to highlight the issues that are important to young people and to persuade candidates to target youth and use these issues as they campaign.
www.whats-your-plan.org