Election ‘96: The Young and the Restless

Every night, from 5 p.m. until last call, you could see them on the streets of Old Town Pasadena, lurking in the shadows of the alley abutting Jake’s Pool Hall and Bar: young men and women with something to sell. “Do It!” “Try It!” “Just Once!” they called out to passersby. But it wasn’t drugs they were pushing; rather, it was the chance to vote on Nov. 5.

For months before the voter registration deadline on Oct. 7, legions of young volunteers recruited by political campaigns and advocacy groups such as Rock the Vote peddled registration cards in malls, at sporting events and on college campuses. Their effort, along with the 3-year-old federal Motor Voter bill, was designed to give young first-time voters a chance to test their political muscle. Historically, a majority of eligible young voters have stayed away from the polls. The question this year is, does anything about campaign ’96 turn them on enough to reverse that trend?

Based on interviews conducted over the last several weeks with more than a dozen first-time young voters, the issues, not the candidates, will be the motivator in this election. The presidential race in particular drew a big yawn from three USC students relaxing outdoors between classes.

“If it was just the president, I don’t know if I would vote,” said Ryan Crosby, 18, of Laguna Niguel. Ali Khan, a 19-year-old from St. Louis, agreed: “I don’t really think the candidates care about guys who are 18 to 20. Because it’s not that big of a bloc, people like us won’t get addressed.” Gabe Witcher, 18, of Granada Hills, added, “A lot of the issues they’re covering are geared toward older America.”

But the young voters did show some passion for a handful of issues that they believe most affect them. Just as seniors zealously guard Social Security and Medicare and baby boomers fixate on taxes, the 18- to 20-year-olds questioned by The Times care most about getting a quality, affordable public education and maintaining safe streets. Older generations might remember their “first time” as the day they voted for FDR, Kennedy, or Reagan. But this generation is likely to associate their debut at the polls with affirmative action and legalized medicinal marijuana.

The marijuana initiative, which if approved would allow people to grow or possess marijuana for medical use when recommended by a physician, was frequently cited as a hot issue. Echoing many of his peers, Crosby called Proposition 215 “probably the most exciting thing about the ballot.” Its proponents have stationed information tables on college campuses, registering students, including Crosby, angered by recent crackdowns on the sale of medicinal marijuana to mostly AIDS and cancer patients.

Another proposition apparently galvanizing young voters is Proposition 209, the initiative that would abolish affirmative action in government programs and college admissions in California.

Tess Peterson, 20, of Arcadia, who is on a semester-long hiatus from Pasadena City College, said the issue is complicated. But she supports affirmative action and will vote against Proposition 209. “It opens a door to other people who might not get a chance. Because if you take two people who get the same grades, but one of them comes from a really disadvantaged background, and still gets the same grades, he should have the benefit of it.”

But Cristina Garcia, an 18-year-old Bob Dole supporter from Los Angeles, said she will vote for 209, to end affirmative action. “I don’t think that there should be affirmative action at all,” she said. “It’s so negative. It just lowers blacks and Latinos.”

Other young voters expressed fear that campaign promises to cut taxes and balance the budget might further undermine the public schools, whose performance is still fresh in their minds.

“I was in high school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, and the teachers were really bad,” said Athena Leong, 18, now a Los Angeles City College student. “We need to hire people, and test them to make sure they’re teaching everything right and that they know what they’re teaching.”

Lorraine Castillo, a 19-year-old Pasadena City College student, shared that concern: “They’re like, ‘Oh, we’re going to lower taxes and stuff,’ but where is that money coming from? They’re taking a lot out of the school systems.” Taking a drag from her midmorning cigarette, Castillo added that she and many of her friends deeply resent governmental efforts to curb smoking.

For Jaime Davis, who registered by mail soon after her 18th birthday last year, the election is an opportunity to have her say on welfare reform. She is the mother of an 18-month-old son, relying on government support while she finishes college at LACC. She worries that further welfare rollbacks would sabotage her degree and doom her to a minimum-wage job. “I don’t care as much about issues like immigration and taxes--that’s not affecting me,” she said. “I’ve been on welfare and I graduated high school, I got a scholarship, and I’m trying to go to college so I could get off welfare. For teen mothers it’s very hard.”

Davis thinks Clinton is more sympathetic than Dole to her plight. And she will vote, she said, “because I want to be a part of what happens to me.”

In the final 12 days before the election, get-out-the-vote groups will hammer that point home: Voting is the easiest way to affect change. Gregory Batiste, 20, of L.A. couldn’t get off work to vote in 1994, but considers a trip to the polls a more pressing obligation this time: “It’s part of my life, so I have to vote.”

Traditionally, first-time voters have an abysmally low turnout. In 1992, 61.5% of eligible 18- to 20-year-olds stayed home, according to the Census Bureau. Still, it was the highest participation among that age group since they became eligible to vote in a national election in 1972.

Rock the Vote, which says it has registered 400,000 new 18- to 24-year-old voters this year, hopes to reverse that trend. Founded in 1990 by recording industry members in response to attacks on free speech, the organization is mounting a massive get-out-the-vote drive, including public service announcements on MTV.

“That Rock the Vote thing, with Method Man and Malcolm-Jamal Warner, that’s a good thing to have on television, because they talk about the fact that maybe one vote won’t make a difference, but the more votes add up, the better it is,” said Ross Copeland, 18, of Los Angeles. “A lot of people watch MTV, and it’s important to hear that kind of thing.”

The weight of the youth vote hinges largely on the degree to which young people feel included in the system. But it’s a Catch-22, said Mark Strama, program director of Santa Monica-based Rock the Vote: Young people don’t vote because they feel candidates aren’t addressing their issues, so they don’t vote, so candidates don’t address their issues.

Even if young people don’t vote in record numbers this year, they cannot be ignored. As one political operative put it, “One thing you can count on--for better or worse, being young, they’ll be around for a while.”

Voices of a Generation

“It’s part of my life, so I have to vote.”

Gregory Batiste

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“That Rock the Vote thing, with Method Man and Malcolm-Jamal Warner, that’s a good thing to have on television.”

Ross Copeland

“I don’t care as much about issues like immigration and taxes--that’s not affecting me.”

Jaime Davis