View Story | 571 comments
Comments: Expand Shrink Hide (Always) | Indented Flat (Always)
http://www.sos.state.ia.us/...
If you are from another state (i.e. Illinois) and are attending college in Iowa (i.e. Iowa State University), you may register to vote in: your Iowa college town or your home state (hometown) and vote absentee - subject to the laws of your home state
If you are from another state (i.e. Illinois) and are attending college in Iowa (i.e. Iowa State University), you may register to vote in:
your Iowa college town or your home state (hometown) and vote absentee - subject to the laws of your home state
Iowa Secretary of State Michael A. Mauro Invites You to the 2008 Iowa Student Caucus What: 2008 Iowa Student Caucus On January 3, 2008 Iowa Democrats and Republicans will take the first step in deciding who will be the next President of the United States. Caucus goers will assemble all over Iowa in meetings to discuss politics, candidates and the issues that concern us most. During the caucus, participants choose which candidate we like the best, which political issues to debate and who we want to elect to participate in the next step in the Presidential selection- the county convention. As a student you will be participating in this exact same process. When: The weeks prior to the Iowa Caucus (January 3, 2008) Weeks before the real caucus you and other students like you will be able to learn about how a caucus works, who the candidates are and what they stand for before participating in your own Student Caucus. You will be able to discuss politics, debate upon issues, and choose the candidate that you like best. Where: Your school Your school will be the perfect setting for such an event. However, before the caucus can be held you have to know how it works. That is why we have created this curriculum to help you better understand how this process works. This curriculum will also walk you through how to hold your own Student Caucus. You will get to practice what happens at a real caucus along with many other students throughout the state of Iowa. You will get a chance to discuss, debate and decide in your own student caucus. You and many other students in Iowa will vote for whom you want to be the next President of the United States. Why: Because your vote matters! The caucuses are important because government impacts our everyday lives. Government has a say in almost everything you do. From laws relating to what foods you are served at school to protection from bullying, government affects you. Because of this it is imperative that you take part in the political process and the caucuses are one of the most significant ways to get involved and make a difference. The Iowa Caucuses are the best example of democracy and it is important to learn about the caucuses at an early age so that when you are able to vote or if you are able to vote that you are an informed voter and, you will participate to make a difference. How: Sign-up to Participate! View the step by step participation instructions, fill out the Teacher Application/Sign-up sheet and return it to the Secretary of State's office via email to gina.fontanini@sos.state.ia.us, via fax to (515) 242.5952, or by mail to Iowa Secretary of State, ATTN: Gina Fontanini, Statehouse, Des Moines, Iowa 50319.
Iowa Secretary of State Michael A. Mauro Invites You to the 2008 Iowa Student Caucus
What: 2008 Iowa Student Caucus
On January 3, 2008 Iowa Democrats and Republicans will take the first step in deciding who will be the next President of the United States. Caucus goers will assemble all over Iowa in meetings to discuss politics, candidates and the issues that concern us most. During the caucus, participants choose which candidate we like the best, which political issues to debate and who we want to elect to participate in the next step in the Presidential selection- the county convention. As a student you will be participating in this exact same process.
When: The weeks prior to the Iowa Caucus (January 3, 2008)
Weeks before the real caucus you and other students like you will be able to learn about how a caucus works, who the candidates are and what they stand for before participating in your own Student Caucus. You will be able to discuss politics, debate upon issues, and choose the candidate that you like best.
Where: Your school
Your school will be the perfect setting for such an event. However, before the caucus can be held you have to know how it works. That is why we have created this curriculum to help you better understand how this process works. This curriculum will also walk you through how to hold your own Student Caucus. You will get to practice what happens at a real caucus along with many other students throughout the state of Iowa. You will get a chance to discuss, debate and decide in your own student caucus. You and many other students in Iowa will vote for whom you want to be the next President of the United States.
Why: Because your vote matters!
The caucuses are important because government impacts our everyday lives. Government has a say in almost everything you do. From laws relating to what foods you are served at school to protection from bullying, government affects you. Because of this it is imperative that you take part in the political process and the caucuses are one of the most significant ways to get involved and make a difference. The Iowa Caucuses are the best example of democracy and it is important to learn about the caucuses at an early age so that when you are able to vote or if you are able to vote that you are an informed voter and, you will participate to make a difference.
How: Sign-up to Participate!
View the step by step participation instructions, fill out the Teacher Application/Sign-up sheet and return it to the Secretary of State's office via email to gina.fontanini@sos.state.ia.us, via fax to (515) 242.5952, or by mail to Iowa Secretary of State, ATTN: Gina Fontanini, Statehouse, Des Moines, Iowa 50319.
Clinton is willfully undermining the state of Iowa's policy of encouraging college students to vote.
This party will have learned nothing from the 2000 debacle in Florida if it nominates Clinton.
"[R]ather high-minded, if not a bit self-referential"--The Washington Post.
by Geekesque on Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 08:54:09 AM PDT
Grinnell puts on their brochures as a selling point.
Come to colleg in Iowa, your vote will matter.
"two psychics pass each other on the street, one says to the other 'you're doing alright, how am i?'"
by Edgar08 on Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 08:55:36 AM PDT
[ Parent ]
None of us, good Dems, would like to disenfranchise any students. Or are you suggesting, we should?
This Week With Barack Obama. Because you need to stay informed.
by icebergslim on Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 08:57:14 AM PDT
Who's already disenfranchised by the system itself.
The only reason for someone out of state to go to college in California is cause they're pretty good schools.
by Edgar08 on Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 08:59:06 AM PDT
I just had a quick question. You travelled to Iowa to help the Obama campaign, right?
Are you going to caucus?
by Edgar08 on Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 09:06:03 AM PDT
you are acting like 5 million kids are flocking to Iowa.
These are students ALREADY THERE.
"Stop the drama. Vote Obama!"
by Number5 on Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 10:00:22 AM PDT
Hillary's supporters are sounding less and less Democratic by the minute.
by dotster on Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 09:23:58 AM PDT
If Obama and his supporters cared about Democracy they wouldn't have hidden behind "It's the rules" when other states asked for the same voting rights that Iowa has.
by Edgar08 on Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 09:26:24 AM PDT
that an implicit rant against the Democratic Party and it's primary procedures is not, in fact, on topic, with respect to this diary. It seems, further, that such a topic is not remotely valid as a defense of Clinton's smears of Obama on this issue- students have a right to vote in the state they attend school. Clinton is not arguing that having students vote in their state of origin is broadening the primary process... she's arguing (wrongly) that they don't belong in the Iowa caucus. The fact that her position (and yours) are self-serving seems to be the most revealing evidence at hand regarding "exclusivity."
If it helps Clinton, then we're all for it!
--------- Acolyte, 3rd Class, Cult of Personality
by Kimball on Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 09:39:41 AM PDT
If we're discussing who can and can't vote/caucus in a Primary it's perfectly valid to point out we already exclude 90% of the rest of the country.
by Edgar08 on Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 09:49:09 AM PDT
and should be reformed... but then, your post here is disingenuous. If Clinton sweeps February states through her famous national lead, Iowa and New Hampshire will be a forgotten memory. Your worry is that the early 4 states selected by the DNC will sway voter opinion away based upon media response.
What- inevitability is all well and good until it seems to be less in your favor?
Each candidate has been running on the rules in place this cycle- target the primary states. As has been documented before, many have been targeting those states a long time in the past. I ask for the candidates and the party to do something to make the system of selecting the nominee more selective, but a candidate doesn't get to change the rules 90% of the way through the game, not when he or she has exploited them so readily.
by Kimball on Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 10:28:38 AM PDT
Of course I agree with you reform is called for.
It's a fact that early voting influences late voting.
If it wasn't a fact, this whole thing wouldn't even be an issue.
Why shouldn't the out of state kids just vote in their home states? Do you want to even try to answer that question?
What's the difference? Aren't their votes in their home states just as important to Obama as they are in in Iowa?
by Edgar08 on Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 10:35:52 AM PDT
by Kimball on Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 11:06:27 AM PDT
by Edgar08 on Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 11:08:54 AM PDT
If they were residents they wouldn't be paying out of state tuition.
Residency for tuition purposes has absolutely nothing to do with residency for voting purposes (or taxpaying purposes or driver's license purposes or any other purpose). Residency for tuition purposes is determined under a set of criteria specifically intended to prevent students who have not paid taxes to the state from getting the benefits of subsidized in-state tuition. That is all. Students are residents for every purpose other than tuition, including voting, and the Supreme Court and Iowa law agrees with me.
During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act. - George Orwell
by kyril on Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 11:34:45 AM PDT
When Clinton points out they haven't paid taxes in Iowa, everyone has a hissy fit.
When you point it out, I guess it's OK.
Either way, all states vote on the same day, this isn't an issue. Until all states vote on the same day, people have a right to discuss where the lines are drawn.
by Edgar08 on Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 11:38:50 AM PDT
because it is, in fact, the justification for the requirement for residency for tuition purposes, because public universities give a lower rate for state tuition which is subsidized by state taxes. Voting is not tuition. Voting is a right of all citizens, taxpaying or not, and of everybody who lives in a state and is of legal age, taxpaying or not.
Look, I'm all for a national primary. And it is terrible that whole states have been disenfranchised, and that deserves a series of diaries too, along with some more substantial action. Go ahead and organize it, I'll be right there supporting you; there's nothing more fundamental to a democratic system of government than voting rights. However, just because you've been disenfranchised doesn't give you an excuse to encourage disenfranchisement of other legal voters. If anything, it should get you more worked up - you should be on their side, because you know what it's like.
by kyril on Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 11:51:25 AM PDT
Go ahead and organize it, I'll be right there supporting you; there's nothing more fundamental to a democratic system of government than voting rights.
It was organized in Florida earlier this year.
I probably missed you supporting it.
by Edgar08 on Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 11:57:40 AM PDT
I'll see if I can send some help their way. The whole primary issue has me seriously concerned, and it needs more play here. The idea that whole states should be left out of the process is indefensible, and the fact that one is a critical swing state and the other is an important purple state that defeated Bush in both elections makes it strategically ill-advised too. Of course, it's too late to get a national primary, so there's no really good answer this election cycle, but at least for this election we need to get the state parties to hold a primary the DNC will recognize.
by kyril on Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 12:07:40 PM PDT
colleges tend to have draconian residency requirements to squeeze those out of state dollars out of them.
voting's a different deal entirely.
surf putah, your friendly neighborhood central valley samizdat
by wu ming on Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 11:36:13 AM PDT
as interpreted by the Supreme Court of the United States. That's enough to make up my mind.
"... politics has been divided between two types of people: those who want more people to vote, and those who want fewer people to vote." - Sen. Kerry
by cdsmith on Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 11:38:47 AM PDT
The constitution governed how the DNC handles it's Primary.
Maybe it should.
by Edgar08 on Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 11:43:04 AM PDT
Where the fuck do you get off deciding where people can vote and where they can't?
"Cynicism is a sorry wisdom." - Barack Obama
by BlueGenes on Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 12:07:57 PM PDT
Colleges and corporations always use their states' positive attributes to recruit students and employees. Like the beach? Come to CA or FL. Low taxes? NV. Low cost of living? TX. Big city amenities? NY, IL, CA, etc. Candidates flocking here every four years to kiss your ass? IA. They'd be stupid not to recruit on what may be the state's biggest selling point (along with friendly people and low cost of living).
by cardinal on Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 09:25:53 AM PDT
I'm sure there is a huge economy based on the Primary process in Iowa.
by Edgar08 on Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 09:28:07 AM PDT
to your final paragraphs in the diary. To show how Iowa itself is welcoming and the HRC campaign is discouraging the student participation. It is a primary, and "all is fair in love and war".
An important event like the very first caucus , may shape voting habits/participation for a lifetime and the petty self interest of a partisan campaign wants those students to be excluded.
John McCain: a survivor, not a hero. Just ask his first wife. He had his chance to be a hero and blew it.
by Pete Rock on Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 09:34:54 AM PDT
is a kick in the stomach unless they can vote absentee.
If the Democratic caucuses are held in the first week of January, they will happen before any college in Iowa has returned from winter break. This makes Obama's emphasis on college students a bigger gamble, with more risk and, potentially, more reward. If students are on campus during the caucuses, they are easier to mobilize - but their votes are then concentrated in those college-town precincts. In Iowa - where a candidate needs to hit a certain percentage threshold in every precinct - that devalues their votes. But in rural precincts, where many caucuses have only 60 or so participants, a few extra votes from college students who are on winter break can swing the outcome.
link: http://www.cbsnews.com/...
I'd hate to be depending on out of state students to cut short time with their families so they can hurry back to school.
that'll take out more voters than any whining from Hillary Clinton, although (ironically) the fact that this story has blown up so much has a chance to make up for a lot of that otherwise likely lost turnout.
all in all this is a damn interesting situation.
by VoteHarder on Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 12:32:33 PM PDT
wide narrow
View Story | 571 comments