According to a 2005 survey by the Public Policy Institute of California, threeout of 10 adults under the age of 25 years old were expected to vote in thepresidential election. This is compared to three out of four percent of peopleover the age of 65.

Mobilize.org has begun a tour of 15 college campuses around California toencourage more students to vote in the special election on Nov. 7, particularlyon the issue of Proposition 77. The tour began on Oct. 24 at Sacramento State.

A possible reason for the gap in voter participation could be that the majority of young adults feel that they do nothave a voice in California politics and especially in national politics. Alsoyoung adults are more likely to get their political information from ComedyCentral’s hit primetime farce, “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” rather thanwatching C-SPAN.

Proposition 77 is allowing the voters of California to decide whether to redrawthe district lines. Opponents say that the districts are fine as is and this isjust a way for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to get more Republicans into thelegislature. Supporters for the proposition argue that the districts arecurrently designed to protect the incumbents and to secure their reelections,according to Chellie Pingree, the national president of Common Cause.

David Smith, the executive director of Mobilize.org said, “During the RV tour,the main focus is to educate students. We will be passing out educationalmaterials, key chains and water bottles.

“We will also have a board puzzle game where students can put together thedistricts and see how they make up California. They can also see how crazy thedistricts are drawn right now.”

After the organization stops by Sac State, it will continue to UC Davis, then toUC Berkley and San Francisco State. The tour will end on Nov. 8 in Berkeley atGoTV, a phone-mobile television company.