A great deal of research on the subject of youth voter mobilization has been done over the last few years. The research shows that: 1) traditional campaigns do not target young voters, 2) peer-to-peer contact is the most effective strategy for youth mobilization, and 3) the political party that is able to successfully mobilize the youth vote will gain a great advantage over the long-term.

This report will show:

• Traditional campaigns do not attempt to mobilize young voters because of the difficulty in making successful contacts
• Youth mobilization efforts are more successful in mobilizing young voters than traditional campaigns
• Peer-to-peer contact is the most effective way to mobilize young voters
• Habitual voting trends indicate that a person voting in two consecutive elections will likely be a voter for life and voting for a political party in three consecutive elections will likely identify with that party for life
• It is important for the Democratic party to reach out to the young voter demographic to begin building party loyalty with dramatic long-term benefits
• Youth mobilization campaigns do not hurt traditional campaigns and can be the difference between difficulty and defeat in favor of the Democratic candidate