Suffrage for Youth
Dear Leading Ladies,
Everyone has an opinion about statistics. There are those who stake their lives on them and those who ignore them summarily. Mark Twain is famous for reputedly saying, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics,” though he attributed the words to British Premier Minister Benjamin Disraeli.
One statistic we find reliable and continually disturbing is that young people, though voting more than in the past, continue to vote at rates lagging behind older people in this country.
Lots of reasons kids don’t vote
Who are these young voters and nonvoters? What do they care about? And what is either motivating them to vote or keeping them from the polls?
John Minchillo AP
The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tufts’ Tisch College has collected some of the answers. According to their recent research, 57% of youth ages 18-34 say they are “extremely likely” to vote in 2024, and another 15% are “fairly likely.” The key issues concerning young people are the environment, jobs with living wages, gun violence, and the cost of living/inflation.
Politicians don’t reach out to young people
Now, here’s where it gets interesting. Less than 1 in 5 young people reported having “heard about politics and issues this year from political parties or campaigns (19%) or from community organizations (14%).” With limited information about issues, elections, or even registering to vote, they are far more likely to “therefore feel less qualified to vote.” Ignorance about issues is definitely a deterrent to voter participation.
Surely, the candidates at the local and federal level can do better at bringing their messages to the young people of our country. They can reach them through social media frequented by youth; by forming alliances with young politicians as did Rep. Ed Markey with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Ortez around the Green New Deal; and by paying attention to the issues young people say matter to them. Eligible young voters may not have deep pockets but they can be strong voting blocs if educated about the power their votes can wield.
Youth Voting Rights Act could help
But there are other deterrents beyond lack of information from the candidates. The Youth Voting Rights Act of 2023, reintroduced earlier this fall by Senator Elizabeth Warren and her colleagues, hopes to remediate some of them. Its goals are to empower individuals and the government to enforce the Twenty-Sixth Amendment; expand voter registration services at public colleges and universities; allow young people in every state to pre-register to vote before turning 18; require institutions of higher education to have on-campus polling places; prohibit durational residency requirements for all federal elections; guarantee that states accept student IDs to meet voter-identification requirements; create a grant program dedicated to youth involvement in elections; gather data on youth voter registration and election participation; and prevent states from placing age limits on no-excuse vote-by-mail ballots. Laws in Idaho, Montana, and New Hampshire, among others, have put obstacles to voting in the way of youth. Let your senators know you support the Youth Voting Rights Act of 2023.
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We need the return of civics classes
Back in the day, you couldn’t get out of junior high (remember when it was called that?) without taking a class in civics that included learning about the three branches of government, the balance of power, and the Constitution. That course is long gone. It’s worth lobbying for its return as a basis for preparing young people to become educated voters, especially since 31% of teens, ages 14-17, who were interested in learning about the 2020 election could not take a course on U.S. politics/government in school! In the meantime, there are some organizations offering resources to educators to integrate into their curricula.
For example, Facing History and Ourselves offers a mini lesson for teaching students about voting and ways to get involved. The Center for Tech and Civic Life offers suggestions for getting students involved. And Rock the Vote offers a democracy class. This free, nonpartisan curriculum educates high school students about the importance and history of voting and pre-registers and registers them to vote. It gives educators access to additional lesson plans featuring the history and importance of voting; modern-day voting rights; the importance of local elections; and how voting impacts issues. Find out what your local school system is doing to teach civics to students in your town or city and suggest where improvements might be needed. If no change is forthcoming, organize community after-school classes where children can learn about their government and how it works.
Meanwhile, gun control activist David Hogg, the co-founder of March for Our Lives, is taking a different tack. He says, “Our political system is stacked against young people—45% of the U.S. electorate is Gen Z and Millennial (18-42), but we have nowhere near that representation in government.” He hopes to change that. Earlier this year, as reported by APB speakers bureau, “he launched the grassroots organization Leaders We Deserve, along with Kevin Lata, Rep. Maxwell Frost's (D-Florida) former campaign manager. Frost is currently the youngest member of Congress. The organization’s mission is to help elect young, progressive candidates to Congress and State Legislatures across the country.” Nothing should bring out young voters faster than seeing candidates that look like them!
We need to do better
Leading Ladies was founded more than four years ago with the mission to educate voters about important issues facing women and families so that they would feel compelled to act and to vote. Here we are, facing another election cycle with so much at stake. Some would say our very way of life is on the line. Voting in the 2024 election is our right, our responsibility and our obligation. It is important that our youth participate this year, perhaps more than ever, in determining who will be our nation’s leaders. To do that, they need to understand our form of government, know how to register to vote, and believe that their participation can make a significant difference.
Teach the young people in your life about how important their vote is and about the issues they should know about. It’s never too early or too late.
At the same time, we need to listen to their concerns and urge our politicians to do so also. Why should they vote if their concerns are ignored?
We plan to help students register to vote in various locations after the new year. Stay tuned and let us know if you’d like to help.
Therese (she/her/hers)
Judy (she/her/hers)
Didi (she/her/hers)