Youth voters did come out to voice the need for change, and the youth did quite a bit of work behind the scenes as well. Youth activists registered voters, made calls, helped people with advanced balloting canvassed neighborhoods door-to-door all in support of a Democratic mandate. So last year youth, not only voted, but also came out and helped out on the ground. With our numbers, and energy, we have become a vital bloc of the political process. Our President recognized this in his campaign through the masterful utilization of social networking sites and the internet to both campaign, and raise funds. Our generation has been able to integrate technology into our social and work lives in an innovative and effective manner. The Democratic Party has taken notice of this and is taking advantage of this technology to transform the way politics operate in the 21st Century.

This puts the youth voting bloc in a particular advantage that we, as an age group, have never been in before. This is why it is important that we should take full advantage of this situation to ensure that we have a vibrant, diverse, just nation for ourselves and our posterity. We have an enormous stake in the outcomes of the political battles being waged before our eyes. Simply voting cannot and will not suffice. We are a bloc that will begin to play as big of a part in political scene as labor, minorities, women, and the LGBT community. These blocs all look within themselves for leaders when it comes to elections, and we should do the same.

If the youth are going to outvote the 65 and older crowd, then we need to start fielding as many candidates as they do. Perfect opportunities for young candidates are open seats. I live in a state (Kansas) where too many state legislature seats and local offices go unchallenged. If no one is willing to run for office, start talking to your local party leaders and people of interest and at the very least, prevent someone from running unchallenged and campaigning for other challenged people in the opposing party.

However, the youth of this country should not relegate themselves to merely being token opposition. If your legislator, county or city officials are not performing their duties the way you believe they should, then by all means, file for office. Take yourself seriously, and others will take you seriously. Don't be afraid to ask people who have ran for and/or been in office for advice; they can tell you how elections are won and lost. All elections are viable to win, however the energy one puts into it will directly affect their outcome. Young candidates can sometimes make the best candidates with little (outside of school) commitments to time and we have some of the best social organizing tools such as Facebook and Twitter at our disposal.

I can provide an example of how youth getting involved locally can make a difference. My county's Democratic Party had found itself in August 2008 prepared to undergo the general election without any organization. Thanks to the support of our field staff in the Kansas Democratic Party, I was able to reorganize the county party in August and start laying the groundwork to help the Democrats win. President Obama won more votes than any Democratic Presidential candidate in over 20 years. (Overall he received 46% of Ottawa, Kansas' vote, 10% higher than Senator Kerry in 2004). We created competitive precincts and townships where there was no competition before. However, I knew in my heart we had won when I heard my poll workers told me that people kept coming in and saying, "Well I would have never known where and when to vote if it hadn't have been for a phone call from the Democratic Party!"

Now I know a big fear of young people looking to really become highly active in politics is exclusion from the older crowd. I can tell you, in my situation, the older folks were thrilled! I kept hearing "You have been the answer to our prayers!" or "We have been waiting for someone like you to come in and turn this thing around!" I was welcomed with open arms and ready to get down to the business of winning elections. It was not easy; in fact I worked my butt off. There were times I wondered if I was just spinning my wheels and getting nowhere. I kept reminding myself that I started with nothing and here I am, still with nothing, connecting the Democratic Party to my community, and seeing work that might have well been shouldered onto the candidates, or not been done at all.

We can't expect that a change in the White House or an even bigger majority in Congress will by itself get the job done. The youth needs to take the fight for clean energy, improved health care, and overall better economic policy to the front lines. We need to start bringing our momentum and energy to all levels of government. The youth of America needs to campaign in the mid terms and for our other candidates on the slate, just as hard and energetic as we did for President Obama. This will not happen overnight. Don't expect our work to be done in 2010, 2012, or even 2014 and beyond. We need to keep a constant energetic environment of activism.

My call is not all indifferent from the call of President Obama’s call to action. We must get down to business on transforming this nation. It will take many people to do this work. The youth of America has found its voice, and now it must climb to every pinnacle and express a sustained call for change not just in the polls, but in our levels of political activities. I am reminded of President Franklin Roosevelt’s quote when talking to supporters of the New Deal. “I agree with you. I want to do it, now make me do it.” Now is the time for the youth of America to help carry the future that President Obama and others like him intend to create for us.