Lake-Geauga Young Democrats Kevin Malecek and Alicia Kundtz agree on just about everything in politics - except for who should become the next president of the United States.

Preferring Hillary Rodham Clinton is Malecek, the Young Democrats chapter president and Willoughby Hills councilman on Clinton's delegate list for the Democratic Party's national convention Aug. 25-28 in Denver.

Backing Barack Obama is Kundtz, a Willoughby resident who is a political consultant.

Malecek and Kundtz are among the Young Democrats and other youth activists stumping for their preferred candidates in Ohio's March 4 primary.

In addition, Ohio Young Democrats and the Ohio Student Public Interest Research Group are campaigning daily on college campuses to get young people to vote this year, no matter who their choice is.

"I think there is a need to get volunteers to make phone calls, to canvass their friends and send out e-mails supporting Hillary Clinton," Malecek said.

"The main things her supporters have to do is all in a very short period of time, and many things to coordinate. We will have volunteer meetings with the Clinton campaign, and we will stay in touch with her team.

"Right now, it's between she and Obama. But when it's all over, Young Democrats will support whoever the nominee is."

Kundtz said Obama's campaign team is coming into Ohio from all over the country.
"Across Ohio, we're really excited," she said. "We have 500 people actually volunteering to work for Obama.

"Clinton's got good name recognition and the support of the governor (Ted Strickland). But Obama is winning the cities, and Ohio has cities, too, like Cleveland and Columbus.

"It will definitely be a lot of young people voting from college. We will be canvassing, phonebanking and making a major group effort to get people signed up as absentee voters or go to the polls if they can."

Ohio Young Democrats this year is making its first-ever effort to increase voting among those 18 to 36 years old, especially in college towns.

"The program will include direct voter contact, canvassing youth-dense precincts to build membership in local chapters and educating young people that Democrats are right on the issues they care about," the state Young Democrats wrote on its Youth Vote Turnout Program Web page.

The Public Interest Research Group is doing the same thing nationally and with its affiliate, Ohio PIRG.

In 2004, PIRG said it helped get 20.1 million young people ages 18 to 29 to vote nationally, up from 4.3 million in 2000. Such turnout increased by 2 million votes in 2006 in all states, including Ohio, the group said.

PIRG said it hopes young people will cast ballots this year as Democrats, Republicans or even independents.

One Ohio hot spot is Butler County, home of Miami University, which includes numerous students from Lake, Geauga and Cuyahoga counties.

In Butler this year, the group helped get a record 740 17-year-olds registered to vote when becoming eligible at age 18 this year and 47,000 Ohioans ages 18 to 29, Ohio Student PIRG spokeswoman Sujatha Jahagirdar said.

"I think that 47,000 will be very significant," she said.

She said Miami is the first confirmed registered voter count PIRG helped get in
Ohio. The numbers will go up as voter registration, absentee ballots and March 4 voting continue at universities and two-year community colleges, Jahagirdar said.

"Young people are going to vote in 2008. Presidential candidates will be well-served by targeting young people," Ohio Student PIRG's Web page says.

At Ohio State University campuses, young voters increased by about 50 percent between 2002 and 2006, ranging from 6 percent (141 to 150 voters) to 111 percent (180 to 379 voters) in some precincts, PIRG said.

Jahagirdar said more specific numbers of Miami, Ohio State and other campus votes will be known after this year's elections are over.

Young voters turnout wasn't always heavy in all states from 2004 to 2006, The Associated Press reported after using national data from the U.S. Census Bureau and elections officials.

"The 2008 presidential candidates are lavishing attention on a group of young people who display unbridled enthusiasm early in the campaign but tend to lose interest when the voting starts," the AP wrote.

"More than half the people in the United States age 18 to 24 who are eligible to vote typically are no-shows on Election Day. By comparison, some 70 percent of those 45 and older cast their ballots, according to the Census Bureau."

But Malecek, Kundtz, Ohio Young Democrats and Ohio Student PIRG say they think this state will see a record turnout of young voters in March and again in November.