4 THE COMPASS - SPRING 2008
POLITICS 2008
Political Poll- Which Issues Most Concern You?
1. Select the THREE issues you consider most when voting. Assign the number In the blank in
front of selected issues as follows:
> Place a “ 3” beside the issue you consider the most important
> Place aW2" beside the second-most important issue
> Place a “ 1 ’ beside the next issue of in line of importance
We will use the point system to depict the ECSLI Student Community results in a graph in
the next release of the school newspaper.
The Issues citedfor this poH were complied with the help of two websites: www.Otlzenjoe.com www.Cnnnews.com
ISSUES;
_Business and the Economy
This covers:
Food
Housing
NASA
Personal debt
Research and Development
Trade
Transportation
Farm subsidies
Housing jitters
_Crime and Justice This covers:
Civil litigation
Crime and justice overview
Guns
ID theft/ID security
Elder abuse / fraud •
Illegal drugs
Prisons
_Energy and the Environment
This covers:
Air
Endangered species
Energy overview
Conservation efforts
Fossil fuels
Alternative fuel sources
Land
Nuclear energy
Water
ANWR
Gas prices
Global warming
Price gouging
_Government and Politics
This covers:
Civics 101
The budget process
Budget basics
Campaign finance
Corporate welfare
Deficits and debts
Taxes
Voting and ballot initiatives
S27s and campaign finance reform
Budget reform
Estate tax
Line item vetoes
Lobby and earmark reform
Redistricting
Filibusters
_Health
This covers:
• Abortion
• Day after pill
Teens and sex
Health care
Mental health
Obesity
Prescription drugs
Smoking
Avian flu avrareness/hype
SARS
Mad cow disease
Medical malpractice/cap on lawsuits
Small business health plans
_Jobs and Welfare
This covers:
Jobs Poverty Retirement Unemployment
Welfare Minimum wage Social Security
_National Security
This covers:
Armed Forces
Foreign aid
Homeland Security
Intelligence
Iraq involvement
National missile defense
Nuclear plant security
Terrorism
Terrorist groups
War spending
Where our troops are
WMD *
Dubai f)ort deals
Enemy combatants and terrorist trials/
prison issues
Iracj split versus surge
NSA wiretap program
State grants and first responders
^Social Issues
This covers:
• Arts
• Disabled
• Faith and religion Family and mar
riage Homeless Immigration The
media Race and ethnicity Internet
neutrality Same sex marriage Stem
cell research
2. Do you vote as a straight ballot or do you
vote based on who best represents the
issues most important to you?
Check beside the following:
o Straight ballot voter
o Vote based off of who best represents
the issues most important to me
o Neither
3. Do you feel the country is ready for a
female president?
o YES o NO
i Think
rVbted
The Young Democratic Vote:
Does it Count and who do they want to Elect for President?
Bj Jessica McDonald
Who do young democrats want for presi
dent, the wife of a former U.S. president
who garnered great support in the past or a
new comer to the arena who has shown him
self to be a viable and strong candidate?
With young democratic voters running
to the polls in droves, their vote may be the
defining line of who becomes our next pres
ident. The Young Voter Pac, an organization
for youth p>olitical engagement and research,
reports that once again young democratic
voters have outperformed young republicans
in the 2008 election campaign. Their statis
tics show that over all, 67 percent of young
democratic voters are expected to vote in
the 2008 election. Statistics also reveal that
63,230 of young people were caucus-goers
in 2008, with S 2,580 of them democrats and
only 12,650 of them republicans.
Senator Hillary Clinton, wife of former
U.S. President Bill Clinton, and Senator
Barack Obama are the two front running
democratic presidential candidates battling
it out state to state for the young demo
cratic vote. The Harvard Institute of Politics
conducted a study between October and
November of 2007 on 1,289 U.S. citizens,
ages 18-24 enrolled in four year colleges and
universities and those who were not. Find
ings from the research revealed that young
democrats favored Senator Barack Obama
over Senator Hillary Clinton on college
campuses, while Clinton edged among non
college youth. The numbers from the polls
show 38 percent of 18-24 year olds will vote
for Obama and 33 percent for Clinton. .
The 2008 election campaign has proved
that young voters do matter, and their pow
er to elect the next president of the United
States is more than just child’s-play. Great
efforts have been made to reach young vot
ers, and as a result, they feel that they are in
clined to vote for the candidate that best ap
peals to them and their needs. This outpour
of youth participation is evident, with the
increase of young voters from the 2004 elec
tion to now. Young people were 9 percent of
the overall Democratic primary vote in 2004
and increased to 14 percent in 2008.
Although race and gender have been the
major variables in this race for the demo
cratic nomination. Senator Barack Obama
has managed to have support frpm the mass
es, and so has Clinton.
Elizabeth City State Llniversity’s Jason A.
Mitchell age 27, Lecturer of Communica
tion Studies, feels that Barrack Obama is the
voice of the people and that he is reaching
out to the youth more, by addressing their
issues and visiting college campuses, es
pecially HBCU. Mitchell said that Obama
is unlike past African American candidates
who ran for president, in that he has a cred
ible political background.
On the other hand, Jermaine Cofield, a
24 year old Elizabeth City resident and non
college student says he will vote for Hillary
Clinton. ‘Her husband will help her win
the election, and he knows how to run this
country,” Cofield said.
Many voters feel the same way Mr. Co
field feels, that Bill Clinton’s experience will
be the backbone of Clinton’s presidency.
The question is, will this hurt Hillary and
weaken her image as a stand alone candidate,
or is this enough to sway young democratic
voters? Barack Obama, the new kid on the
block who has gained mass appeal and has
stood his ground, has a chance to win, but
what more does he need to take home the
victory?