"P. Diddy" and the 2004 Election
Kassie Rubico

WHAT DO YOU THINK? Did P. Diddy affect your vote in the 2004 election?
NAME: Seth Laurence AGE: 20 PARTY AFFILIATION: Independent "No. While the attempt to mobilize the youth vote admirable, mobilization without direction is counterproductive. The lack of a clear position or party affiliation is why this movement failed."
NAME: Aleksandre Ward AGE: 20 PARTY AFFILIATION: Democrat "No. I was looking forward to voting before Diddy gave the ultimatum and passed out T-shirts. I hope he does it every four years though just to reach those who don't think it's cool to vote unless someone like him says so."
NAME: Jerome Eno AGE: 19 PARTY AFFILIATION: Democrat "No. I was going to vote anyway so his campaign seemed like it was for other people."

Rapper, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs in an attempt to motivate the youth population to vote in the 2004 presidential election, used the campaign slogan, "Vote or Die". Did it work or was it simply a way for him to move merchandize and get more publicity on MTV?

Historically the youth vote has been considered the untapped pool of liberal voters and the DNC tried to capitalize on that in the resent election. In 1972 the legal voting age was 21 and Americans felt that if someone could be drafted, at which time a draft was instated, they should have the right to vote. The point was made and the voting age was then changed to 18. That year young voters came out in record numbers. The result of the youth vote however was not as expected, it was close to an even draw for democrats and republicans. Then four years later when the draft had been eliminated the young vote fizzled as well. P. Diddy's slogan was somewhat of a scare tactic with hopes to mimic the election turnout of 1972.

Recent surveys suggest that young people are not only more engaged in politics today, but are also more knowledgeable in current affairs. This may be true but not proven by their attendance at the poles. Yes, the number of youth voters was higher than four years ago but as was the overall number of voters. The proportion of voters between ages 18 - 29 was 17 percent, exactly the same as in 2000.

In an MTV interview on Tuesday, November 2, 2004, P Diddy himself admitted he got off on the wrong foot in his political endeavors. "I was a little reckless with my comments", i.e. get George W. Bush's "ass out of office", "it would have been better to light a flame under young Americans and let them make the decisions." Did P. Diddy affect the results of the 2004 election? Maybe he did but it wasn't with the youth vote, it was probably more with the concerned voter who didn't want a rap singer (or Hollywood) dictating our government.