Republicans Threaten to Sue SC Democratic Party

State Democratic Party Chairman Joe Erwin came out swinging Thursday night for what he called an "evil" act by the state Republican Party leadership.

Erwin, speaking to a crowd of about 200 at a Spartanburg County Democratic Party rally at Cleveland Park, said that the Republican Party nixed a deal that could have provided 5,000 volunteers for the Democratic presidential primary in February.

Erwin's speech ignited the crowd, which had come to hear remarks by local party leaders and representatives of the nine presidential candidates.

Katon Dawson, the state Republican Party chairman, called Erwin's comments a "smokescreen" and a "ploy to grab headlines."

Erwin said the offer came from Washington, D.C.-based Freedom's Answer, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization founded by Doug Bailey, a Republican, and Mike McCurry, a Democrat, after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The organization's Web site says its mission "is to turn today's students into tomorrow's voters -- by empowering them to see what a difference their participation can make."

It was Bailey who offered to provide the volunteers, Erwin said. But there was a condition: The Republican Party had to give its OK.

"They were told, 'No, we don't want those young people working in this election, and if you do this we may file a lawsuit against you because it's a partisan event,' " Erwin said.

SC State Law

SECTION 7-13-110. Poll managers to be residents and registered electors of counties; assistants.

All managers of election for the various polling places in the State must be residents and registered electors of the respective counties in which they are appointed to work or in an adjoining county. Any person at least sixteen years of age who has completed the training required by Section 7-13-72 and who is not otherwise disqualified by law may be appointed as a poll manager's assistant by the appropriate county election commission. Any sixteen- or seventeen-year-old appointed as a poll manager's assistant may not serve as chairman of the managers or clerk in the polling place to which he or she is appointed. Sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds must serve under supervision of the chairman of the managers of the polling place, and their specific duties must be prescribed by the county election commission. One sixteen- or seventeen-year-old assistant poll manager may be appointed for every two regular poll managers appointed to work in any precinct.

Kids Voting

In 1988, three businessmen from Arizona traveled to Costa Rica on a fishing trip and caught much more than fish!. These three founders of Kids Voting learned that voter turnout is about 80 percent in Costa Rica. Costa Ricans attribute this high voter turnout to their tradition of children accompanying mom and dad to the polls. Youths learn early the importance of voting in a democracy. As a result, Costa Ricans believe their form of government is well preserved for the future.

Kids Voting USA. Today, Kids Voting USA is the only program of its kind that enables students to visit official polling sites on election day, to cast a ballot similar in content to the official ballot. Kids Voting USA teaches youth -- through a special curriculum, family participation and community involvement -- the importance of being informed and the responsibilities of voting.

What is Kids Voting?
Kids Voting is a yearlong non-partisan nonprofit program teaching kindergarten - 12th grade students about citizenship, civic participation and the election process through classroom lessons, volunteering and practice voting on Election Day.

Kids Voting South Carolina is an effort to develop a stronger civic ethic by giving K-12 students an opportunity to participate directly in elections by voting with their parents.  The essence of the program is a fairly extensive classroom curriculum that helps students learn about issues in campaigns and how to make up their minds about those candidates whose views most parallel their own. On Election Day, every polling place in the county is set up with a special voting booth in which students cast their ballots while their parents are in another room casting theirs.  A favorable side effect of Kids Voting appears to be as much as a ten percent increase in adult voting.  So far pilot programs are up and running in Horry, Berkeley, and Georgetown counties.  Recently the Palmetto Project received a grant to make the program more accessible to every county in the state.

Freedom's Answer

Research tells us students are less likely to vote. Pundits tell us we're apathetic.

The truth? We're just cynical. Jaded by negative ads, shouting matches on TV, and politicians that seem to say everything but the truth.

We're fighting back. We're too important to be overlooked. Right now students across the country are planning the largest voter turnout drive in history.

Students get answers, Senate candidates get volunteers' hours for student volunteers' help

When Lisbeth Leanos, a junior at Chicago's Curie High School, arrived at her first political forum Saturday morning, she was a clean slate, politically speaking

By noon, though, she had to make a major political decision. After hearing from nine candidates for U.S. Senate from Illinois, she had to choose her favorite. The payoff for the candidate? At least 20 hours of her volunteer time.

She is one of 200 Chicago students signed up for the Mikva Challenge, [...]

Besides volunteering on campaigns, kids work as election judges and register voters, intern in government offices and develop youth-issue agendas

Declare Yourself

Norman Lear, the 81-year-old television producer, said Thursday that he was beginning a $9 million campaign to register one million to two million new young voters for the 2004 election.

(...)

"If you get them voting at 18, they'll be lifetime voters," said Mr. Lear, who combined politics and popular culture in the television show "All in the Family." "Madison Avenue always said this about product: if you get them buying your car at a young age, they'll stay in the family of cars."

The survey also found that a major reason that young people do not vote is not so much cynicism as the feeling that they do not know the issues or the candidates. Thus, the Lear campaign has created a Web site, declareyourself.com, to be a one-stop shop for voter information.

Declare Yourself is a national nonpartisan, nonprofit campaign to energize and empower a new movement of young voters to participate in the 2004 presidential election.  Declare Yourself will rally young Americans through a live spoken word and music tour of college campuses; an unprecedented nationwide voter education initiative for high school seniors; a comprehensive voter registration and election information Web site; an extensive online awareness campaign; a massive voter registration drive; a televised "get out the vote" concert; and public service announcements.  Unique alliances with technology and media partners, educators, the entertainment, music and fashion industries, the corporate community and the National Association of Secretaries of State will be used to ignite millions of young voters.