What We Learned from Our Youth Vote Event
Dear Leading Ladies,
We’ve had a busy past few days, with voter registration drives at Beverly High School and Landmark School and our YOUth Votes Count event in partnership with the Cabot Theater.
At Beverly High, we registered some 18-year-olds and pre-registered some 16- and 17-year-olds who didn’t know they were eligible to get on the rolls now. As always, candy was a good way to get the kids to approach our table, but so was asking them how they felt about the MCAS. We had on hand the booklets from the State House that explain all the ballot questions, including the one about whether or not passing the MCAS should be required in Massachusetts for graduation. Every student we approached had an opinion about the question, but not one seemed to know it was on the ballot this year. To those students unable to register, we encouraged them to talk to their parents about their feelings regarding the MCAS and to encourage their parents to listen to their opinions before they vote.
Some of the students took the booklets and said they would read them; some said no thanks and moved on. What we learned – or, rather, confirmed again – is that young people, as well as older people, care most about voting when it affects them and their lives. Note to politicians: Want to get the youth vote? Talk to them about issues in their everyday lives.
Special thanks to Sue Kelly who arranged our election sign-ups at the schools and to Sue, Leslie Marchesseault, and Lynne Freeman who were on hand to talk to students and register them to vote.
Watch the video here.
That night was the event at The Cabot. We started off by playing on the screen the rap by the Hamilton cast encouraging people to vote. (see above) Then Kelly Siegel-Stechler from CIRCLE at Tufts University moderated the panel discussion and began by sharing some statistics about the youth vote. The good news is that youth voter turnout has been at historic highs in the last few elections, with double digit increases in the past presidential races. Nonetheless, many youths who would like to vote do not and this, she said, is because the information is not getting to them. They do not hear from the candidates and they are not given opportunities to dissect and make sense of the information they do receive.
As the discussion unfolded, the same themes emerged. Young people care about issues that affect them personally but they need to be brought into the conversations. The high school students on the panel, Lola Prendergast from The Waring School and Wilhelmina Thaegart from the Academy at Penguin Hall, said their response to other students who might say their votes don’t matter is that their votes are part of a “collective voice” and that it is important for them to develop “good habits around voting.” These young women are clearly engaged and motivated but they see the challenges in sharing their enthusiasm for civic involvement with some of their peers.
A selfie of our great panelists from the YOUth Votes event at The Cabot last week.
Marisol Santiago from MassVOTE and Hannah Levine from the Berry Center of Politics at Salem State University added their professional perspectives to the conversation, substantiating the fact that young people care but must be informed by people in government and by their institutions of learning.
Things to do with reach beyond 2024
The experts also reminded us that Massachusetts, for all its progressiveness, does not have same-day registration. This means an eligible resident can not register to vote on Election Day. This is important because, if you have ever lived with a teenager, one thing you know is that they are impulsive and not great at time management. Waking up on November 5th, turning on the news and seeing people clomping off the polls, and then saying to themselves, “Oh, darn, I meant to register to vote. Wonder if I can just go down there and do it today” would not be an unlikely scenario. But those kids are out of luck until the law changes in Massachusetts. So, while we are waiting to see what happens in three weeks, now is a good time to write to our legislators and tell them we want same-day registration.
A question and answer period followed the panel discussion. A young 17-year-old asked what she could do before she’s eligible to vote. Former Beverly City Clerk Wes Slate stood up to remind the audience that even those too young to vote can do a lot: volunteer at the polls, for campaigns, at voter registration places, and in other ways. He also reminded voters to send their ballots in early if they plan to vote by mail, because those mailed near the deadline often do not arrive on time and, therefore, risk not being counted. Thank you, Wes, for joining us and sharing that important information. And special thanks to our terrific panelists.
So, looking beyond November, we see the work that needs to be done to bring our young people further into the democratic process. As we’ve said before, our schools need to educate their students about government and politics and history, so the kids understand how laws are made and why our country’s system is worth protecting but also improving. Politicians and candidates need to reach out to young people and explain the issues, even though these young people may not be large donors. And, laws need to be updated to allow for same-day registration and other improvements in access to participation, including such initiatives as polling places on campus, as Salem State University now has.
The elections may be over on November 5, but the work to make our democracy as good as it should be must carry on, no matter who wins.
Let’s keep doing some things!
Therese (she/her/hers)
Judy (she/her/hers)
Didi (she/her/hers)
Leading Ladies Executive Team