General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums39% of unmarried women eligible to vote have not registered
http://www.voterparticipation.org/the-rising-american-electorate/51 percent of young people between 18 and 29 who are eligible are not registered, representing 31 percent of all unregistered citizens
37 percent of African Americans who are eligible are not registered, representing 12 percent of all unregistered citizens
48 percent of Latinos who are eligible are not registered, representing 12 percent of all unregistered citizens.
gopiscrap
(23,674 posts)there needs to be a major effort to do some registration. In 2004 I registered 1,800 people
1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)the DNC and anyone claiming to want change would see these numbers and organize a massive registration drive ... with special attention paid to gerrymandered House districts and every purple district.
It's great to register and turn out the vote in blue districts; but that doesn't/won't maintain seats and flip the house.
I live in a purplish district in Arizona ... a district where Barber (Dem) won by 1,402-vote margin (out of more than 300,000). I am currently planning a Candidate's Night that will be co-sponsored by an African-American interest organization, a Hispanic interest Organization and an economic justice interest organization. The focus being 3 under-represented segments of the population wanting to hear what the politicians have to say about addressing our issues. Along with the Candidate Night, I am working to have each group bring as many unregistered voters as possible, so they can get registered.
To be honest, the problem I'm facing reminds me of the words of a dear, and recently departed friend ... "Imagine what could be accomplished if no one wanted the credit." I am footing the bill, personally and out of my pocket, but the organizations are fighting over who will get top billing, who will moderate, etc.
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)While multiple threads about Sports Illustrated get hundreds and hundreds of spittle drenched posts.
Really puts me off posting substantive OPs in GD, they almost always drop like a lead filled snowshoe.
But I've written about that problem before.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024353051
1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)that winning elections is not what a sizable segment of DU is about ... It's more about airing one's grievances, some valid, some (IMO)imagined, and proving one's liberal/progressive metal by bashing expressing righteous indignation towards our President and the Democratic Party, in general.
But it is what it is, despite protestations to the contrary.
You and I disagree on a lot (but mainly tactics); but I have no doubt that we seek to end up in the same political place ... others, I have my doubts ... and the way to get there, as your initial post speaks to, is to create more Democratic voters; particularly, in the gerrymandered and purplish districts.
Get Out The Democratic Vote in 2014 and beyond.
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)Note my comment in the second reply..
Of course DU is full of trolling, I have yet to find a political site online that isn't and I've done my share of trolling too, more other places than on DU but I'll cop to trolling here sometimes but I try not to be vicious about it.
The single most important thing I've learned in my time online is that it's all but impossible to be unambiguously understood by everyone no matter how well you craft your message. The larger your audience the greater the likelihood you are going to be misunderstood by someone and there is quite a big audience on DU.
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)Ms. Toad
(33,915 posts)Because the title made it look to me as if it was some variation of the gender wars (focusing on unmarried women - as opposed to a general article about voting).
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)If this was a gender war OP it would have four hundred replies by now, substantive OPs almost never get that sort of response.
If you haven't watched the video I urge you to do so, it's Gail Zappa, Frank's widow and it's quite obvious why Frank loved her.
Ms. Toad
(33,915 posts)I have been avoiding opening many threads which seem to be part of the gender wars by title (and some of those recently have also had remarkable few responses - and been locked very quickly). I only opened this one because it survived longer without being locked (and without receiving hundreds of replies). I see at least one other person in this thread had a similar response to the title.
If I get a chance I'll watch the video.
bettyellen
(47,209 posts)It can feel when people around you seem more concerned about their egos than the results. It can be pretty exhausting. I learned you really just got to print up those fliers without showing everybody or the edits and squabbling never end. Ha!
El_Johns
(1,805 posts)Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)As are the other groups mentioned in the OP.
But we have more important things to fight about here in GD.
RobertEarl
(13,685 posts)It is a failure of our party that they don't vote.
There is one thing that were we to ever really take credit for it might give them a reason. And that is the fact that Democrats are the Peace party.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024557574
Victor_c3
(3,557 posts)We need to give them a reason to vote, just like fox news gives the right leaning groups reasons to get excited and turn out to vote for their causes.
RobertEarl
(13,685 posts)One youngster claimed the reason young don't get involved is because we old folks say it's a PARTY, but we don't PARTY!! That we are actually kind of boring.
Faux, like you say, gets them excited.
myrna minx
(22,772 posts)Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)Chorophyll
(5,179 posts)leftynyc
(26,060 posts)that is actually important and not the bullshit that clogs up GD every single day.
Coyotl
(15,262 posts)Therein lies the blueprint to finally dumping the Republicans in the Trash Heap of Bad History.
HappyMe
(20,277 posts)I had no idea the numbers were that high. I think I should pass this on to the local Dem office.
maddezmom
(135,060 posts)The numbers are unbelievable. Yikes we have a lot of work to do in GOTV.
HappyMe
(20,277 posts)it's important to register and vote.
I'm hoping that by passing this info on, a registration drive can be organized.
MadrasT
(7,237 posts)GOTV!!!
Mr Dixon
(1,185 posts)My only questions would be are these women the working poor and just unable to get off work to vote!
yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)The numbers who vote are worse. The numbers above are just the numbers who fill out the form. These are terrible numbers.
Harmony Blue
(3,978 posts)because telling women that they can control their own destiny is taboo on DU.
Shaming men accomplishes nothing when the majority of voters are women and many more women sit out elections. I know many women under the age of 29 (I am 31) that do NOT vote not just young men which is why I always receive flack when I say both men and women need to step up to the plate. Especially women, because they are the largest voting bloc now.
bettyellen
(47,209 posts)Not really.
It's disappointing on a national level how Dems have not made preserving women's reproductive rights a huge priority. It feels like they gave up on young women a while ago.
G_j
(40,366 posts)HappyMe
(20,277 posts)right there would be reason enough for them to register and vote.
Sheldon Cooper
(3,724 posts)vote FOR. In state after state, our right to bodily autonomy is being eviscerated. Where are the Democrats in all this? Afraid to piss off the teabaggers and religious right. I don't see much in the way of decisive action from our leaders. If they would actually stand for something they may get people to the polls.
And despite your snide comments, sexist garbage like the SI threads being not only permitted but endorsed on this, a supposedly DEMOCRATIC website, do nothing to help the cause.
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)Not snide at all, just commenting on what is and is not popular here.
I've written an OP about that subject before.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024353051
gollygee
(22,336 posts)topics where people here disagree always get more replies, and the more disagreement there is, the more replies they get.
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)Sheldon Cooper
(3,724 posts)Wasn't sure how else to interpret that.
redqueen
(115,096 posts)bettyellen
(47,209 posts)I don't see any self reflection on why we are alienating young women. Do you?
redqueen
(115,096 posts)It is utterly, disgustingly transparent.
gollygee
(22,336 posts)however they don't vote for Democrats at the rate of women so I assume that's why their numbers aren't listed here.
redqueen
(115,096 posts)I agree with your reasoning re: why the number isn't even mentioned.
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)bettyellen
(47,209 posts)some times, and think about how that mirrors the party. At some point in the last twenty years we have become an afterthought. Even though we still support Dems much stronger than men do in the voting booth- when it really counts.
I can't tell you how depressing it is to see a lot of our rights eroding without much of a challenge at all in many areas. That women's involvement is decreasing should not be a shock. We deserve better.
WillyT
(72,631 posts)Laelth
(32,017 posts)-Laelth
shrike
(3,817 posts)for jury duty. Seriously
RockaFowler
(7,429 posts)They can call you based upon your Driver's License now - not just voter's registration
redqueen
(115,096 posts)I'm surprised to see that quote from Zappa.
I'm much more familiar with this one:
"The illusion of freedom will continue as long as it's profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater."
So often paired with this one from Twain:
"If voting made any difference they wouldn't let us do it."
If I had a dime for every twenty-something toocoolforpolitics type who regurgitated that crap I'd be filthy rich.
The poor and oppressed are often at their limit just surviving so I don't fault them.
HappyMe
(20,277 posts)have a great deal at stake. They need to wake up, get registered and vote.
redqueen
(115,096 posts)What were the responses like the last time you went canvassing?
Go on and tell them that they "need to wake up" and let me know how that goes for you.
HappyMe
(20,277 posts)door to door, the response was pretty positive. I was passing out brochures for a woman that was running for a local office. She won.
I'm not going to bother telling anybody to wake up. If they can't see for themselves what's at stake then I can't help them. I have forwarded the info in the OP to a couple of local Dem leaders asking that they should take a look at having a registration drive.
bettyellen
(47,209 posts)Because it's my thing, and I have largely given up on meetings where people argue about each other's wants and needs instead of getting shit done. Ain't got time for that. I asked if they were doing any, or wanted me to organize if they'd just put out an email or something for volunteers.
I was told it wasn't part of their plan.
Their plan consisted of giving me a sheet of 500-700 people to call in a one day period. Stupid.
MicaelS
(8,747 posts)Many ordinary people ask themselves "What has Congress done for me lately?" And too often the answer is "Nothing". Congress is too interested in placating small and large businesses, Wall Street, Defense Contractors, and the Defense Department. And trying to interfere in countries on the other side of the planet.
Look how much trouble getting ACA passed entailed. And we should have had NHC 70 years ago. And the next fight will be over raising the minimum wage.
muriel_volestrangler
(101,159 posts)Figures are available here: https://www.census.gov/hhes/www/socdemo/voting/publications/p20/2012/tables.html
Table 2 (Black alone) says 73.1% of African American US citizens (all ages) were registered, so 27% were unregistered, not 37%. That's better than the all races figure, which is 71.2%, and the 'white alone' figure of 71.9% (though marginally below the white non-Hispanic figure of 73.7%). And voting rates are close to white in congressional elections, and were higher in the last 2 presidential elections (an effect of President Obama, I guess):
It's Asian and Hispanic people who aren't voting as much:
Also, from Table 9: 65% of unmarried women are registered; 56% of unmarried men.
Lunacee_2013
(529 posts)I'll never really understand why. I asked one of my friends, who just happens to be unmarried and female, why and she said "it's pointless, there is no difference between the parties and besides, our votes don't count, they choose our reps for us". Sometimes I can see her point, but to just completely give up isn't going to fix anything.
Jamastiene
(38,187 posts)if only there was a way to get them to register and then vote.
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)"with millions of votes, what difference will mine make?" -talking point