Six groups have joined forces to register 100,000 new voters in Colorado before the November elections.
The groups are targeting low-income areas, minorities and young people.
It’s time the underrepresented people have a voice, said Ben Hanna, state director for Colorado ACORN, a group that is participating in the drive.
“We find that politicians just take a look at our members and our issues and say, ‘Huh — I’m not sure I have to pay attention to you all because I know who votes in my district, and it’s not you,'” he said. The drive is “about building power and accountability for working-class folks.”
There has been a spike in voter registration this year as a result of the Democratic primaries, and political scientists say the November elections have potential to draw record numbers to the polls.
The groups decided to team up after a Project Vote study showed a dismal voter turnout in Colorado for minorities, the poor and young people. The study also found that once registered to vote, the “underrepresented populations vote at nearly the same” as those who are white, affluent or older.
The groups plan to station themselves at grocery stores and events throughout the state.
Hanna said his organization register about 20,000 people during the 2004 elections. But since December, the group has already registered more than double that number.
“This is a year where a lot more people are excited in our communities about the election,” Hanna said. “And they are hungry to get registered.”
Bob Loevy, a professor of political science at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, said the Democratic primaries have motivated many Americans to vote.
He said that because the effort is aimed at low-income communities and the youth, more people will register as Democrats.
“About the only negative you can put on this is the Democrats conducted similar high-powered and successful voter turnout drives in 2000 and 2004,” he said. “But, you know, in both of those cases, the Republican candidate won.”
Christopher Sanchez: 303-954-1698 or csanchez@denverpost.com
