You are here: Home / World / Young Voters Mobilizing Peers for Midterm Elections

Young Voters Mobilizing Peers for Midterm Elections

October 27, 2010 by

[HTML1]

With early voting having started, and the midterm elections right around the corner, Keeping Up with Gen Y talks to three young people, two from the political parties and an independent, about the importance of the upcoming midterm elections to under-30 voters.

In the spirit of nonpartisanship, the guests appear in alphabetical order.  First, we talk to Johnna Carlson, who is involved in Republican politics in our nation’s Capitol. Then, we chat with Alissa Ko, president of the California Young Democrats. And finally, we meet Ryne Moore, who explains why, even though he’s disillusioned with both parties, he still feels it’s his civic responsibility to vote on Nov. 2.

More about Johnna Carlson
A Houston native, Johnna Carlson got her start in government by interning for a Republican Texas State Senator while a student at The University of Texas at Austin. After graduating in 2007, Johnna took off for Washington, DC, where she worked in the governmental affairs office of a national trade association.

Today, Johnna is a graduate student in political communication at Johns Hopkins University, and in her free time, she enjoys volunteering with various GOTV efforts on behalf of GOP campaigns.

More about Alissa Ko
Alissa Ko is president of the California Young Democrats.  Alissa got her start in politics as an intern in an Assemblymember’s office. As a minority woman, she cares about helping empower women and minority groups in the political process. Since graduating from the University of California, Los Angeles, she has worked for organizations that advocate for women, workers rights and consumer rights.

Alissa was elected president of the California Young Democrats in 2009 and is serving her second term. Prior to her involvement at the state level, Alissa was active in the local Sacramento Young Democrats chapter. CYD’s mission is to engage and mobilize the next generation to vote and participate in civic engagement.

More about Ryne Moore
Ryne Moore is a freshman political science major at Arizona State University.  From an early age, Ryne was a political junkie, working on the campaigns of candidates for Arizona House of Representatives and U.S. Congress. In his junior year of high school, Ryne and a classmate started a Politics Club. He also served on Student Government, and wrote for the high school newspaper. After finishing his undergraduate degree, Ryne hopes to earn a Master’s in Journalism and pursue a career in broadcast reporting.  A former Republican, Ryne is now a self-described independent going into the 2010 midterm elections.

Filed Under: World Tagged With:
About Tamara Bell

Tamara Bell is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Y Gen Out Loud, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that provides a platform for Generation Yto discuss national politics and public policy issues.

Tamara began her journalism career as a staff reporter for the Dallas Times Herald. A few years later, she moved to York, Pa., as a political reporter for the York Dispatch, covering local, state, and national government as well as writing investigative stories for the mid-sized daily newspaper.

A Texas girl at heart, Tamara returned to Dallas a year later to work as press relations director for the re-election campaign of U.S. Rep. John Bryant. The next year, she moved to Austin and the Texas Legislature, where she stayed for 15 years. While at the Legislature, Tamara worked for Democratic House members as Chief-of-Staff and Press Secretary, and as a Senior Policy Analyst for the Senate State Affairs Committee chaired by a Republicansenator.

In 1996, Tamara became co-owner of a political newsletter covering state issues and elections. As Editor-in-Chief, Tamara helped shape the weekly publication into a must-read for state officials, legislative aides, and lobbyists. More recently, Tamara wrote a regular column analyzing coverage by the Texas Capitol Press Corps for an online political publication. She also works as a lecturer in the Advertising Department at The University of Texasat Austin.

Tamara has also been a judge for the 2010 Bright Ideas Award given by the Texas Daily Newspaper Association, served as a panelist at the Society of Professional Journalists 2010 Region 8 Conference where the theme was How to Save Journalism, and has been a guest lecture for the Advertising Department’s Internship course, speaking about the jobs outlook for graduating seniors.

Tamara earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Journalism from The University of Texas at Austin, and her B.A. in Journalism from Texas A&M University. She resides in Austin with her son, Jackson.

Tamara Bell is also the Host of Keeping Up with Gen Y on WomensRadio. Keeping Up with Gen Y offers discussions, interviews, and commentary about important issues of the day from the perspective of Generation Y (18-to 30-years-old). Aimed at all generations interested in learning about and inspiring young people, this show features professionals, experts, researchers, and members of Gen Y who share insights and experiences about the topics on the minds of today’s young adults.