I commend the Obama campaign for trying to register and mobilize people under 30 to vote.

But the only problem is that election after election, people under 30 have demonstrated, time and again, that they DON'T VOTE in large numbers.

And I don't think that counting on their support is a winning electoral strategy.

I agree with you to a point. The "youth vote" may not count in any single election, but youth voters tend to become committed lifetime voters with strong opinions that can influence friends. 1,000 youth votes in this election may become several times as many in four or eight years.

I don't think it's just apathy that keeps youth voters away. There's a lot of hype surrounding the election itself, but it's easy to let the registration deadline slip by. Experienced voters are more likely to remember where & how to register & more likely to have lived in one place for long enough to have all paraphernelia you need to register. Youth voters move around a lot more, so it's harder for them to know where & how to register & to have the necessary proof of residence, etc.

I'm Canadian, so the obstacle course you need to follow in the USA to register is kind of mind-boggling. Here the government keeps active voter registration records (we call it "enumeration") that are shared among federal, provincial & municipal elections, & all parties have aggressive get-out-the-vote organizations. If somehow you get missed, you can register at your polling station with picture ID & a recent utility bill showing your address. (They will catch you if you vote twice.) Of course, our Parliamentary system of government doesn't have fixed election dates & election cycles tend to last six weeks or less, so our system needs to be more flexible.

I live in Massachusetts so often times I do not see any point of voting. I still do it for "civic duty" type purposes and its a nice excuse to get out of work early or to show up late.

Tell that to Hillary.

To our Canadian friend, I'm not sure why you believe registering to vote in the United States is difficult or mind-boggling. I can't think of an easier and more straight forward interaction I have ever had with any type of Government Agency, then with my Voter Registration Office. It is easy, quick, and costs nothing but a small amount of time. My state even has early voting, which makes the voting process very convienent. The only elections I have ever missed, is when I have lived overseas.

There is no real excuse for Americans not to vote.

in Canada it's even easier . the gov't hires people who go door to door to make sure everyone is registered in every household.you don't have to go anywhere.the only effort required is to be home and open the door.if they miss you they come back later.

I agree. I remember shortly after turning 18 earlier this year and wanting to register in time for the primaries, I drove down to the county office and it took all of three minutes to fill out the form. Nothing hard. I was able to vote and was happy.

Now at college, my campus is actively registering students to vote and am doing that. The form takes, again, all of three minutes to fill out. They're even nice enough to have voting booths when the time comes. Very easy. Their goal is to get around 11,000 students registered.