FILE _ "I Voted" stickers are ready to be distributed to each person who filled out a ballot, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, in Brandon, Miss. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was scheduled to hear arguments Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024, over whether Mississippi can continue to permanently strip voting rights from people convicted of certain felonies. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
KIDS THESE DAYS
Kamala Harris will need young voters to turn out big time in November for her to have a good shot at beating Donald Trump, political strategists tell What A Day.
- “I don’t see a Harris victory” without young voters being highly engaged, Tom Bonier, senior adviser at political data tracking company TargetSmart, told What A Day. “Young voters are as engaged as they have ever been, if not more engaged,” he added. Today is National Voter Registration Day, and the Vice President’s campaign is trying to corral the kids and capitalize on renewed enthusiasm.
- “Donald Trump lost in 2020 because young people showed up. If we’re going to defeat him again, the path runs through young folks — especially in the tipping point states,” Joshua Rush, a senior adviser for Young Democrats of America, told What A Day. “Winning in Pennsylvania and North Carolina means turning out the young folks at UNC, Penn State, and NC State to record-setting levels,” said Rush, who manages a statewide political campaign in the swing-state.
- Democrats and voter registration groups are also trying to meet the kids where they hang out: on social media. Registration efforts targeting young people are geared toward platforms like TikTok and Instagram, and they’re “typically celebrity-focused,” Chyann Sapp, campaign director for National Voter Registration Day, told What A Day. That’s why you’ll see former President Barack Obama on TikTok, as well as Olivia Rodrigo, Steph Curry, Maggie Rogers and hundreds of other celebrities telling you to check your voter registration. Billie Eilish just posted that she’s voting for Harris. It’s a proven strategy: More than 400,000 people visited a voting info website after Taylor Swift posted a link while also endorsing Harris.
The younger generation could be the largest voting bloc in America — if they show up, Vote.org CEO Andrea Hailey told What A Day. Republican-dominated states are trying to prevent that.
- The “famously conservative” Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in Arkansas ruled last week that officials can implement a new “wet signature” rule (sounds gross), which requires handwritten signatures on voter registrations forms and directs counties to reject most forms submitted with electronic signatures. Similar rules have been enacted in Georgia, Florida, Texas recently, according to Vote.org, a nonpartisan get-out-the-vote organization. Interesting to once again see Republicans seemingly admit that they don’t think they can win when more Americans vote.
- “It is a huge distraction, and that is the point. The point is to exhaust people out of the system, both voters and the people who do this work,” Hailey said, noting that many young people use digital signatures. “The antidote, long-term, to some of these problems is going to have to be federal legislation that addresses what’s happening in the states, so everyone’s not playing Whack-a-Mole constantly.”
Young people, and young women in particular, are key for Kamala Harris — and the majority of them are feeling “nervous” and “scared” about the election. Democrats are trying to turn that anxiety into positive energy to win big against Donald Trump.
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- Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), on Donald Trump’s latest crypto venture and its possible ethical implications.
NEWS NEWS NEWS
Kamala Harris directly blamed Donald Trump for the death of a Georgia woman who died after being unable to access legal abortions and timely medical care because of extreme state restrictions. “This is exactly what we feared when Roe was struck down,” Harris said in a statement on Tuesday. “These are the consequences of Donald Trump’s actions.” She’s right and she should keep saying it.
An indictment charging rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs with racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution was unsealed on Tuesday. Combs could face up to 20 years behind bars. He was denied bail and taken into custody after pleading not guilty.
Civil rights advocates are criticizing New York City police after an officer shot a bystander in the head during a confrontation with a man, who was believed to have avoided paying his fare at a Brooklyn subway station. The victim, a 49-year-old man, is in critical condition, as the advocates raise questions about the use of lethal force in such a tight, crowded space, as well as whether the omnipresence of NYPD in the subway is actually making conditions safer.
Instagram is making major changes to teens’ accounts, giving parents more control over their kids’ messaging and content. Over 100 million accounts will be impacted, as the social media platform faces regulatory pressure to improve the safety and privacy of younger users. I remember just lying about my age to make a Facebook account way back in the day, so I’m kinda confused by the whole thing.
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