“We had a good showing,” said Garrett Arwa, state director of Organizing for America. “Once the fall starts back up, we’ll definitely be having events going on on-campus (and) we’ll definitely have events going on in East Lansing.”

Organizing for America was formed after President Barack Obama’s inauguration in January 2009. Obama’s election brought forward 15 million new voters who mostly supported Obama, according to barackobama.com. Vote 2010 aims to bring these new voters back to the polls in November in support of the Democratic party, Arwa said.

“The goal of our 2010 program is to reach out to a lot of these young voters and say, ‘You were very influential in (2008),’” Arwa said. “‘This is the agenda for change that you voted for in 2008 that the president has started to make good on, and the November election is critical.’”

The Republican Party also is hoping to target college-age voters in the 2010 election cycle, said Jennifer Hoff, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Republican Party.

“Michigan Republicans plan to take our message to young voters in a more direct, more aggressive and more effective way than ever before,” Hoff said in an e-mail. “More than any other group, young voters were sold a bill of goods by the Obama campaign in 2008; they were promised ‘change,’ but have just been given more of the same failed, big government, tax-and-spend policies that have decimated Michigan for the past seven and a half years.”

Although they might marginally benefit the Democratic party, college-age voters are typically a non-player in elections, said Bill Ballenger, editor and publisher of the political newsletter “Inside Michigan Politics.”

“The young voter cohort, whether it’s 18-25 or 18-35, it’s always the least energetic and responsive in terms of turnout,” Ballenger said. “Even if it goes up in one election, like in 2008 with Obama, it’s still not going to be as high as all the other groups, and then it usually falls off dramatically in non-presidential years. (Turnout is) going to be terrible this year, just terrible.”

Although few college students turn up at the polls, young people can have an impact in politics in other ways, said Corwin Smidt, an MSU assistant professor of political science.

“Young people are often more likely to volunteer and give their time and effort to a campaign, so that can have influence,” Smidt said.

Vote 2010 hopes to turn around young voters’ trends of non-participation, Arwa said.

“Typically during these midterm elections, they don’t come out,” Arwa said.
“They were a big piece in making sure the president got elected, and we think they’re just as critical this time around.”

The campaign to earn the support of young voters will not end until November, Arwa said.

“We’re committed until the polls close on Nov. 2,” Arwa said.