We know that young people are motivated to vote; like all us they share concerns about Iraq, college affordability, and pocket book concerns related to energy and health care costs. Most of all, we know that young people will vote, especially when their peers urge them.


10 million young people, 18-29, voted in the 2006 elections. This is an increase of 2 million young people from the 2002 elections.

Young people went into the election voting for Democrats with a 2 to 1 margin and the majority of them identifying as Democrats for the first time in years.


Research tells us that if a person votes for a Party three times in a row, they become a Party voter for life. Young people voted for Democrats in 2004 and in 2006. 2008 is a call to target and turn out young people once again in order to build a solid bloc of young Democratic voters for years to come.


In Orange County, using traditional and non-traditional face-to-face voter contact methods, the local, state and national young democrats partnered to run a 16,000 young voter peer-to-peer project in Senate District 34. We know that when young people talk to their peers they will turn out to vote.

Around the state our members made over 100,000 knocks and phone calls for Democrats. This does not include the great work new high school activists did in the Victory 2006 Offices.


Young democrats continued to help their community through serving in public office from legislators like Senator Alex Padilla and Assemblymember Nicole Parra, to municipal leaders like Tim Sbranti of the Dublin City Council, Gary Davis of the Elk Grove City Council, and Evan Low of the Campbell City Council to community leaders like Lisa Kaplan of the Natomas Unified School District, Abel Gullien of the Peralta Community College District, and Rocky Fernandez of the AC Transit District.

Chapter Highlights:

• Pasadena YDs made peer-to-peer calls from their local UDC office on a weekly basis.

• San Fernando Valley YDs did a peer-to-peer slate card mailer for the 3 election cycles and made peer-to-peer weekly calls in their local UDC office.

• Progressive Democrats of Ventura County sent a GOTV robocall to all Democrats in Ventura, mailers to voters about Democrats, and held pledge to vote drives throughout their community.

• UCSB College Dems canvassed Isla Vista four times and ran an aggressive VR Program to register 9,000 voters, and a GOTV program. Turnout records in Isla Vista reached an all time Mid-Term Election high of 48%

• Newport Harbor High School YDs made peer-to-peer calls and did a school wide voter registration effort to high school seniors.

• Silicon Valley YDs and Bellarmine High School Dems dedicated over 800 hours to Cindy Chavez’s campaign for San Jose Mayor and worked 369 hours on campaigns, like Evan Low for Campbell City Council.


• USC Dems helped host two events with Sen. Barak Obama.

• Los Angeles County YDs and San Fernando Valley YDs hosted a Governor’s Debate Watch Party at Cinespace in Hollwyood.


• Claremont College Dems registered voters and their very own Nick Warsaw was a radio star discussing student’s outrage over the tuition hikes.


• San Diego County YDs worked on a city council in Northern San Diego, knocking on over 1,500 doors.

• Crystal Springs High School Dems made phone calls and canvassed out of their local UDC office.


• East Bay YDs walked nd phoned over 400 hours in several campaigns, including Jerry McNerney, Abel Guillien, and Courtney Ruby. Held several voter education events as well.

• Pepperdine Dems hosted a joint fundraiser with CYD featuring Sen. John Kerry.

• Democrats at Cal State Fullerton were galvanized by the election to form a new chapter.

• Stonewall YDs canvassed in Senate District 34.


• Peninsula YDs helped fund and run their local UDC office and raised for money CD 11.

• Cal Dems registered voters, canvassed in CD 11,, worked with the Building Trades to create an anti-Arnold video, and held a ‘Terminate the Terminator’ event.

• Fresno State College Dems held an anti-tuition hike event on campus and made calls out of the local UDC.


• UCI Dems worked on the peer-to-peer project in Orange County, registered voters on campus and held a Terminate the Terminator event on campus.

• San Francisco YDs did weekly peer-to-peer calls at their local UDC office and sent out a slate card.

• San Francisco State Dems adopted precincts around their campus for the Democratic Party, held an anti-war rally with Phil Angelides and Gavin Newsome and registered voters.

• Santa Cruz College Dems registered voters and worked on a Anti-Tuition increase event on CSU Monterey Bay’s campus.


• Sonoma County YDs fought to elect young democrat Nick Caston to the Sonoma School Board.


• Sacramento County YDs helped elect young democrats Gary Davis to the Elk Grove City Council and Lisa Kaplan to the Natomas
School board.


• Mira Loma High School Dems and Sacramento County YDs worked hard Eddie Kirby’s race for the San Juan School Board.


• Santa Clara College Dems dedicated efforts to educating students on Prop. 85, phone banking for Cindy Chavez and Phil Angelides, and led an on-campus GOTV drive to over 1,000 students.

• Stanford Young Dems logged over 100 hours for Cindy Chavez, Jerry McNerney, and other local officials.


• Mission Viejo High School YDs hosted a phone bank party making close to 1500 phone calls for the SD 34 peer-to-peer campaign.


• Pacifica High School YDs held a phone bank party and consistently sent volunteers to the SD 34 peer-to-peer campaign.

• Bruin Dems hosted a “Terminate the Terminator” event with Phil Angelides on campus and GOTVed over 750 students.