California

President Obama visits USC

Justin Velez

On Friday, October 22nd, Barack Obama visited USC’s campus to encourage 37,500 Democratic voters to “fight on.” The move comes after election experts predicted that Democratic voting would suffer in the upcoming election. Furthermore, Republican spending has far outpaced Democrat efforts, with governor hopeful Meg Whitman spending over $140 million thus far compared to Jerry Brown’s $32.6 million. The President directed his speech to young voters, urging them to vote in this election, and in the years to come to help shape California and the country as a whole. The trip also served as a fundraising campaign for U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer and attorney general candidate Kamala Harris. They, along with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown, spoke briefly before Obama’s speech. With only 8 days until the election, both Republicans and Democrats are scrambling to get last minute votes.

Low Voter Turnout:

• Registrars have estimated voter turnout to range somewhere between 35-40 percent. Primaries and gubernatorial elections have historically had low turnouts.
• Some experts attribute low voter turnout to negative ad campaigning from candidates. This has created voter apathy to the candidates and issues.
• Campaign ads can often be misleading and confusing, causing voters to feel frustrated and unsure how to vote on an issue.

Voting information:

http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/

Additional Reading:

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/oct/23/local/la-me-1023-obama-20101023