Are you a GrannyVoter?

American grandparents have unparalleled political power for they are part of the most sought after voter demographic in American politics—the 55 plus voter.

Voters ages 55 and older lead all other age groups both in percentage of those registered to vote and those who do vote. In the November 2000 election, 70.1% of voters age 55 to 64 population went to the polls as did 72.2% of those 65 to 74.

What would happen if grandparents would vote the interests of their grandchildren who can't vote for themselves?

GrannyVoter.org seeks to answer that question. We want to inform, inspire, and engage grandparents so that they vote for sustainable policies protecting the quality of their grandchildren's lives decades into the future and the stability of the America they will inhabit.

GrannyVoters believe the following five issues will be critical in ensuring better lives for our grandchildren:

OPPORTUNITY AND FAIRNESS
What programs will candidates champion to increase access to education, employment and dependable healthcare over the next twenty years?

ENVIRONMENT
How do candidates plan to protect the earth for our grandchildren from pollution, depletion, and climate chaos?

BUDGET DEFICITS
What will candidates do to lift the burdens of public debt and resist programs that make our life easier today but must be paid for in the future.

CIVIL RIGHTS
What steps will candidates take to guarantee hard-fought freedoms and strengthen our civil liberties?

PEACE
What will our elected officials do to promote international cooperation among nations so that our grandchildren will not inherit a world of resentment, rage and violence?

GRANDPARENTS—AND POLITICAL CONVERSATIONS—ARE READY FOR GRANNYVOTERS.
Recent polls show that older voters don't simply cast their vote depending on a candidates' position on traditional senior issues such as pensions, Medicare and Social Security.

• An October 2003 survey by Lake Snell Perry & Associates and the Tarrance Group shows that older voters say they would prefer a candidate who goes after younger voters to one who focuses on older people like them. Large majorities (88%) of voters say a candidate who "talks to younger voters about his or her stand on issues that are of concern to voters of all ages like education, crime and health care" is one they would be more likely to support.
• In the AARP 2004 New Hampshire Primary Survey of voters ages 55+, older voters said that, when it comes to issues considered very important in selecting a presidential candidate, strengthening the economy and creating jobs (79%) and improving education (61%), issues critical to America's future generations, ranked higher than strengthening and preserving traditional Medicare (59%), and expanding Medicare to cover prescription drugs (56%).
  

The demographics of the "new" grandparents and their roles in their grandchildren's lives are shifting.

• Today a record number of Americans are grandparents—about one-third of all adults, or 70 million Americans, to be exact.
• The number is expected to rise to 80 million by 2010 as more of the baby boomers, the 76 million people who were born in post-World War II America between 1946 and 1964, become grandparents.
• The average age of a first-time grandparent today is 47.
• The role that grandparents have in their grandchildren's lives is changing.
• The number of children who are living with and being cared for by their grandparents has increased by 30% over the last decade. Over 6% of America's children live with their grandparents today.

The time for the GrannyVote is now. It is time for grandparents to become vocal and visible, and to speak out for their grandchildren and their future.

We believe the GrannyVote can frame and define a new generation of grandparents who are taking action on their grandchildren's interests, and as trustees of America's future