On the heels of historic youth voter turnout in the nation’s first Presidential contests in Iowa and New Hampshire, hundreds of California college students will greet their peers returning to campus from winter break with a smile, pen and voter registration forms.  In a rush to help register thousands of their peers before the state’s January 22nd primary voter registration deadline, student volunteers across the state will storm dorms, visit hundreds of classrooms and organize campus events.  Their goal: to ensure the voice of California’s young voters is heard on Super Tuesday. Campuses where CALPIRG will run youth voter mobilization drives

Student leaders will also partner with Student Governments, organize classroom ‘text out the vote’ announcements, hold ‘flash mobs’ events that use the web to ask large numbers of students to congregate at a specified place and time on campus for a visibility stunt, and utilize Facebook to build campus buzz around voter registration and recruit registration drive volunteers.  Other visibility events will include a voter-themed campus carnival with events like ‘Pin the Face on the Candidate,’ and a ‘Get out the Vote’ concert at the University of Southern California. Profiles of student leader running youth voter mobilization campaigns

In 2006, 1.1 million 18-29 year old Californians voted, up 3 percent from 2002 turnout.

For more information contact: Sujatha Jahagirdar, (323) 309 6120 name, sujatha@studentpirgs.org

CALPIRG New Voters Project Super Tuesday
Registration and Mobilization Drive Campus Locations

University of California, San Diego
University of California, Riverside
University of California, Irvine
University of California, Los Angeles
University of Southern California
Los Angeles City College
East Los Angeles College
Los Angeles Valley College
University of Southern California
University of California, Santa Barbara
University of California, Santa Cruz
University of California, Riverside
University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Davis

CALPIRG New Voters Project Student Voter Registration and Mobilization Leaders

For Interviews Contact: Sujatha Jahagirdar, 323 309 6120 (Sujatha@studentpirgs.org)

Mike Reagan, 21 – In the 2006 mid-term elections, Mike lead one of the largest voter registration efforts that the University of California, Davis had ever seen, registering 1,500 young people to vote.  A college senior, Reagan was energized after testifying this fall before Congress regarding the threat posed by global warming to his generation.   This election he is helping to lead a voter registration and mobilization effort  on campus that will use registration tables,  classroom ‘text out the vote’ announcements, web ‘flash mobs, ’ costumes and other visibility stunts to register students and build a voting ‘buzz’ on campus for February 5th.

Sarah Dobjensky, 19 – After spearheading a 1,500-student voter registration drive in the 2006 mid-term elections, Dobjensky went on to lead a campus effort to educate fellow students about student debt issues and the need to reduce college costs.  Since April, she has also mobilized groups of students on campus to attended events fundraisers, town halls and photo-ops organized by presidential candidates to ask about issues important to youth.  The effort, part of CALPIRG’s What’s Your Plan? Campaign has talked to all the major candidates more than 100 times.

Tracey Zheng, 20 – A sophomore and Student Senator at the University of California, Zheng serves as CALPIRG New Voters Project’s campus campaign coordinator.  This year she is spearheading a voter registration and mobilization drive that aims to help register 1,500 students to vote and turnout thousands of students on February 5th.

Valerie Johnson, 21 – A student at Los Angeles Valley Community College, Johnson organized a ‘Get out the Vote’ concert last semester and this year is spearheading a voter mobilization effort on her campus, organizing classroom announcement blitzes and registration tables on campus.  Deeply concerned about issues about hunger and homelessness in the Los Angeles area, she has also organized campus fundraisers for local food banks and other non profits.

Daniel Teplitz, 20 – A sophomore at the University of California, San Diego, Daniel is working in partnership with the campus student government to organize ‘classroom registration blitzes’ and other voter registration events on campus. Daniel also spent the summer working on a grassroots Environment California campaign to increase the use of renewable energy in the state.

Jenn Engstrom, 20 – A sophomore at the University of California, Berkeley, Jenn has actively worked to mobilize campus support for high-speed rail between Northern and Southern California, federal clean energy policy and stricter textbook price disclosure laws.   This election she is working to mobilize students to register and get to the vote by organizing classroom registration blitzes and campus visibility events.

Ruchika Gupta, 20 – A junior at the University of Southern California, Ruchika is working with the USC’s Undergraduate Student Government and the Political Student Association to organize a campus ‘Get out the Vote’ concert in the days before the primaries.  She is also working with the CALPIRG chapter on campus to organize classroom registration blitzes, tables and plaster the campus with reminders to register on January 22nd, the day of the California Primary registration deadline.  Since April, Ruchika has also helped lead the CALPIRG’s What’s Your Plan? campaign on campus, organizing students to appear at candidate events hosted in the area to ask about issues important to young people.