Brian Blanco for The New York Times
Yasmin Kenny, 28, who works in Tampa, Fla., after leaving college for money reasons, has no regular place to stay.
ORLANDO, Fla. — Millions of struggling working-class young adults, many in battleground states like Florida, Colorado and Wisconsin, are up for grabs in this election, making up what experts call one of the most potentially powerful but often overlooked voting blocs.
Voter turnout efforts tend to focus on university campuses and young professionals who have time and money to spend on campaigns. But in several tossup states this year, legions of eligible voters are young, jobless or underemployed, and lacking in formal education beyond high school. Undecided between the presidential candidates, and often discouraged, they are offering openings for both parties to make gains, experts say.
"What we know about non-college young voters is that they are tied to neither party, and they are far more independent than anything," said Jefrey Pollock, president of the Global Strategy Group, a polling firm for Priorities USA Action, the "super PAC" that supports President Obama.
Across the country, roughly 18 million young adults — more than 40 percent of eligible voters 18 to 29 — do not have, and are not now pursuing, college degrees. And their unemployment rate is more than twice that of their college-educated peers.
The Obama and Romney campaigns are working to tailor messages to this group, one of the most challenging to get to the polls. The largest segment is white, and polls suggest it favors the conservative fiscal stances of Republicans. But among young adults in general, who tend to be socially liberal, Democrats could have the upper hand.
Matt Ely, 25, who works two restaurant jobs as a server and a cook in Green Bay, Wis., laments that even after a 53-hour workweek, he still lives "paycheck to paycheck." Mr. Ely had enrolled in technical college, but toward the end of his program it did not seem likely that he would find a job, so he dropped out to save tuition money.
He is opposed to the Republican plan for tax cuts for upper income earners, but does not think Democrats have good ideas, either. "They're all a bunch of rich people that I really don't feel like care about me anyway," he said.
Mr. Ely's comments highlight one of the central complaints expressed by young adults who are poor: that their concerns are neglected.
A video that surfaced this week of Mitt Romney speaking critically at a private fund-raiser of people who depend on government programs or who pay no federal income tax seemed to reinforce that narrative. "My job is not to worry about those people," Mr. Romney said of his campaign strategy.
How was that message received by Mr. Ely, for instance? "It was a really stupid thing to say," he said. "Definitely doesn't make him look any better in my eyes."
Still, the Romney campaign is relying heavily on the Internet and social media to make its pitch to financially distressed young adults, some of whom depend on government food stamps and unemployment checks.
"The Obama economy has created a lost generation," said Joshua Baca, the Romney campaign's national coalitions director. "Hope is on the way. That's what we're saying. You're going to have a better opportunity to get a job and a college education and a better opportunity to succeed if we elect Mitt Romney president."
The Obama campaign is investing in social media, too, and counting on its extensive ground operation to carry a message: "President Obama is laying the foundation for long-term growth of this generation," said Clo Ewing, a campaign spokeswoman, "by expanding access to quality, affordable health care for young people, investing in college and job training that ensures they're ready to succeed in the work force, and investing in a manufacturing and clean energy sector that's creating the jobs of today and tomorrow."
Experts say that the segment of young working-class people who are struggling may appear disengaged, but that they are also highly persuadable. "Extensive research shows that if you ask young people to volunteer or vote, they respond at high rates," said Peter Levine, director of the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University.
In a report released in August, researchers from the center found that the most important factor in explaining low levels of civic participation may not be apathy but merely "an absence of opportunity and recruitment." The report suggested that being "personally and explicitly asked" is perhaps the most important catalyst that motivates young people without college degrees to take political action.
By KAREEM FAHIM and ALAN COWELL 20 Sep, 2012
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Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/20/us/politics/struggling-young-adults-pose-challenge-for-campaigns.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
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