Inside Elections

As our Chief Elections Officer Warren Slocum said this week, “One of the things that the recent Iranian Presidential election and the controversy surrounding the vote totals proves is something he’s been saying for a long time – we need more real data in the field of elections.”  To that end, he met with Professor Melissa Michelson of CSU-East Bay and Professor Neil Malhotra of Stanford to talk about possible academic studies related to elections.

For starters, the three agreed to apply for a grant from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission under the 2009 Help America Vote Act Mock Election section (CFDA #90.402) to encourage voting among young people, and, specifically to see if participating in a mock election will inspire youth to participate more regularly at a younger age. Young people have historically and consistently voted in smaller proportion than any other demographic section of the population. Even in the November 2008 Presidential Election when more young people voted than ever before, their participation was significantly less than other age groups. 

Ages 18-29           51%                                     
Ages 30-44           62%
Ages 45-64           69%
Ages 65 & older     70%

*(statistics from the Kirby and Kawashima-Ginsburg 2009 The Youth Vote study)

If funded, this study will test whether students participate in greater numbers:  1) if they are comfortable using the voting equipment, 2) if they understand the issues, 3) if they understand the mechanics of voting as well as the issues, or 4)  if neither have any impact on voting behavior.

Students will learn how to use the voting device, use it for voting in a mock election that will be held the week before the regularly scheduled elections in November 2009 and November 2009.  The results of the student vote will be compared with the results of the countywide vote and shared with all participants. Hopefully it will be funded and in the field this fall.