How can you contribute to the League's 2008 efforts?  Find out here.

Our focus

While the 2008 election is being dubbed the year of the young voter, only 1 in 14 non-college educated 18-29 year olds participated in Super Tuesday, as compared to 1 in 4 for college  educated 18-29 year olds*.  As the 2008 election unfolds it appears that the League's constituency -- non-college youth, youth from low-income communities and communities of color -- represent a critical bloc of potential voters to bring about progressive change in this country. The League of Young Voters is uniquely positioned to engage and mobilize this hard-to-reach constituency through programs that stress long-term, self-sustaining empowerment. We believe we can harness the excitement of the 2008 election cycle to increase civic involvement and build a base for organizing, empowerment, and activism in 2009 and beyond.

Where we are working

To maximize the impact of our work, we perform voter outreach on a precinct-by-precinct basis.  We use demographic analysis and data from previous elections to ensure that when Election Day rolls around, we are turning out large numbers of young voters, especially in strategic districts that have influenced state and national elections in the past.

Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania League focuses on young voters in low-income neighborhoods, public housing communities, jails/detention centers, and the arts community. Recipient of a three-year Go Grant for state-based young voter organizing, the PA League has a track record of winning legislative and campaign victories, such as killing a bill that would have required IDs at the polls and disenfranchised ex-felons, moving the date of an election so students could vote (2006); preventing massive transit cuts (from 50% down to 11%) as a core member of a coalition that gathered 30,000 petitions in opposition of the cuts, narrowly swinging two city council elections against an entrenched political machine, and helping launch Pittsburgh United, an influential new labor community coalition designed to develop community benefits agreements (2007).

In 2008, the PA League will focus on voter protection, juvenile justice and green jobs at the local and state level.  We will conduct an integrated voter engagement program to elect progressive candidates up and down the ballot.

 Maine

The Maine League is widely acknowledged as one of the most powerful and effective civic organizations in the state of Maine, with a strong base in Portland as well as a state-wide campus network. The League played a key role in defeating the so-called Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) in 2006, and an anti-gay ballot initiative in 2005. We have also written and passed three innovative statewide laws: Energy Efficiency Disclosure Form for rental units; Extending Tax Increment Finance (TIF) districts for artists; and most famously, the Opportunity Maine initiative, an unprecedented law passed in 2007 which eliminated most student debt for students who remain in state after graduation. In Portland, the League's voter turnout and PAC activities have played a key role in electing four City Councilors, three school Board Members and two State Representatives, among others. We have also won numerous local policy victories including an inclusionary zoning policy in 2006.  

In 2008, the Maine League will expand its work on issues such as affordable housing and transportation. Statewide, they will work on energy and climate change, will work to dramatically build the youth anti-war movement, and help ensure successful implementation of Opportunity Maine. Maine will conduct an integrated voter engagement to elect progressive candidates up and down the ballot, including a US Senate race which is one of the top contested senate races in 2008.

Wisconsin

The Wisconsin League is widely known as the major organization that does sophisticated voter engagement and advocacy in the most socio-economically depressed neighborhoods on Milwaukee’s North Side. Past victories include the defeat of a youth anti-loitering ordinance, defeat of a School Board measure introducing handcuffs into public schools, and the closing of a loophole on the purchase of handguns statewide. The Responsible Gun Ownership Bill we helped champion is being considered as part of the Governor’s Crime Package in 2008. The Wisconsin League's 2004 GOTV effort in partnership with YVA showed 8% increases in democratic performance (the highest of all the groups studied in Ryan Friedrichs’ report “Young Voter Mobilization in 2004.”)

In 2008, the Wisconsin League will focus on violence, gun control, criminal justice reform and health care (paid sick days) issues. Wisconsin LYV will conduct an integrated voter engagement program to elect progressive candidates up and down the ballot.

Ohio

Since 2004, the League has had strong community and campus chapters around Ohio, especially in Columbus, Toledo, and Cincinnati.  In 2008, the Ohio League will focus on college access and affordability, economic justice and social justice issue. The Ohio League will conduct an integrated voter engagement program to elect progressive candidates up and down the ballot.

Florida

With campus and community networks in Tallahassee and a college chapter in Gainesville, the Florida League is poised to get out the vote and conduct election protection in the 2008 elections, with a focus on economic justice and social justice issues. The Florida League will conduct an integrated voter engagement program to elect progressive candidates up and down the ballot.

California

The League has become a household name in the Bay Area.  Every election, the League's PAC distributes between 10,000-50,000 “Pissed Off Voter Guides" that are used by countless young (and not-so-young) people across the city. The League’s endorsement is highly coveted by campaigns looking to win over the youth base.

In 2008, the California League will focus on college access and affordability, economic justice and social justice issues. California LYV will conduct an integrated voter engagement program to elect progressive candidates up and down the ballot.

Minnesota

With bases in the Twin Cities, the Minnesota League has been one of our strongest volunteer-led affiliates since 2003, having played a role in supporting several local issue campaigns and elections.  In 2008, the Minnesota League will focus on college access and affordability, economic justice and social justice issues. The Minnesota League will conduct an integrated voter engagement program to elect progressive candidates up and down the ballot.

*according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, or CIRCLE