Can MySpace Swing Election Votes?

A recent American University study found that a mere 15 percent of eligible voters bothered to cast votes in the primary elections this year. The previous record low was 19 percent from the last two midterm elections. Politicians have historically capitalized on any hot button topic or national concern to mobilize voter turnout, often with success, but often not. Now, a bold move by MySpace.com could change the face of voting recruitment and how political campaigns are run in the U.S.

MySpace.com has recently launched a new campaign to encourage its members to go to myspace.com/declareyourself. The web page is an area where MySpace members can register to vote and perhaps begin to get involved in election activities. With a monthly visitor count of 54 million unique users, even a modest percentage of increase in voter registration has the potential for enormous effects on elections.

Perhaps the most effect of new voter turnout could be felt in the Republican party. Traditionally, core support for republicans comes from more conservative sections of the population. Frustration with the economy, policies of the current administration, and scandals involving members of congress has caused some long-time party members to consider changing their votes. On the other hand, college age men and women are often more liberal and if past trends hold true, any large base of new voters could be more inclined to support Democratic candidates.

Historically, young adults, women, and minorities show a low voter turnout. Two of those groups, the young adults and the women, have the largest demographic of untapped votes. Of people aged 18 to 22, usually only 22 percent of those registered to vote actually turn out to do so. Motivation is the key, and with so many people in that age group spending so much time on web sites such as MySpace or Facebook, motivation there could be the catalyst that gets them to the polls. If 50 of your friends, buddies, or contacts are doing it, chances are you will join the herd and head for the polls.

A bill was passed in the past year that requires universities to provide voter registration forms to all students, either in paper form or online. But these days students are usually pressed for time with classes and often a job, which makes filling out any more paper forms a very unappealing task. Even remembering to go to a web address and register electronically is too much of a bother. But if the service is only one click away from a site the student or young adult already spends much of his or her time on, then registering to vote becomes much simpler and more likely to occur. Many states require supporting identification with registration, so those registering on line would have to bring it to the polls when they actually vote.

The impressive numbers of Myspace members hasn't gone unnoticed by a growing number of politicians, both incumbents and hopefuls alike. Creating catchy pages for themselves, they are looking to gain an audience with new supporters and increase their political clout. Take a tour of both MySpace and Facebook and you'll run across a surprising number of familiar names, such as Barak Obama or any number of other congressional members. They are signing up buddies and friends, launching their platforms, and getting their ideas and names out to a fresh group of people to which they might not otherwise have access.

Even if this new trend in registration is successful, the real results will only be heard if the people actually do go out and vote in November. Again, it all hinges on motivation. In an increasingly technology based world, face to face social networks are shrinking. Most people polled say they only have one close friend in person in their lives, while numbers of Internet based relationships and support systems are growing. Rock The Vote didn't shake the political world, but MySpace could end up in the Oval Office.