Campaigns to get people to the polls target Nevada

Friday, Dec. 5, 2003 | 9:41 a.m.

SUN STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

Three political campaigns focusing on getting people to vote -- two of them urging people to use their franchise against President Bush -- are slated to begin in Nevada, which is considered a major swing state for 2004.

The campaigns target specific states and focus on getting more young people to register, getting Hispanics to join the Democratic Party and attacking Bush on issues such as the war in Iraq.

The campaigns are:

Major financing for the effort comes from the Pew Charitable Trusts, George Washington University, the state Public Interest Research Groups, and the Center for Public Interest Research, a consumer advocacy organization.

"Every political analyst in the United States is painfully aware that had (Al) Gore won Nevada in 2000 he would have been president of the United States," Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said today. "That is why Nevada will be a major battleground site in 2004.

"This is a winnable state for Democrats, given that Bill Clinton won Nevada in two prior elections. We are disproportionately important given that we have just five electoral votes. But that is good for Nevada because we will not be overlooked. The candidates will come here."

Berkley, who as a student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas 35 years ago fought for lowering the voting age to 18, said it is disheartening that so many young people do not vote. She called it a "no brainer" for the Democrats to woo the youth and "yet-to-be-tapped extremely important Hispanic voter base."

"If efforts are beginning this early to attract youth and Hispanic voters, they need to be sustained throughout the campaign," Berkley said.

Some of the early efforts are encouraging more than just getting out the vote -- they are hitting Bush hard in his perceived weak areas.

The MoveOn.org ads attack Bush for spending an additional $87 billion in Iraq, arguing that money could be better spent at home. The opening image is of a child sitting at a desk in an empty schoolyard.

Bush, meanwhile, has raised more than $100 million, with no donations larger than $2,000, the maximum amount presidential candidates can get from an individual.

In recent days, Bush has stepped up his re-election efforts, including running an ad in Iowa defending his position on the war in Iraq.

Bush campaign spokesman Scott Stanzel said the anti-Bush ads are another example of how Bush's opponents are using "unlimited, unregulated" donations to focus on "pessimism, partisanship and attack."

He predicted that Bush's liberal critics would outspend the president next year, and that Bush supporters would "join together at the grass roots to defend his record of leadership."

The youth voter campaign will conduct registration drives on college campuses and at youth-oriented events. It also will push for voter turnout in about 2,500 precincts with hundreds of paid staff members working phone banks and canvassing door-to-door.

The ads to attract Hispanics to the Democratic party, include one called "Change" that reminds Hispanics that "the Democrats have always been our best friends. With them, the progress of our community is secured."

The other ad questions Bush's spending on poor schools, which are attended by 60 percent of Hispanic children.