Youth is often narrated as a generation that does not care about politics. This is a general conclusion for the low voter turnout of youth in elections. On the other hand, the political movements that have recently emerged are spearheaded by youth—even from a generation that has just reached the age of voting.
The myth that youth are politically apathetic is not entirely wrong. It is true that youth are apathetic—more precisely apathetic to formal politics. But beyond that, youth still believe in politics. Youth still want to be involved in politics but in a different way – they march, protest, and initiate alternative movements outside of formal politics and then continue them in the electoral cycle.
For example, the movement of students demanding the safety of the high schools they study in explicitly brings with it the issue of access to voter registration. The issue of regulating gun ownership was also raised as an electoral issue offered to candidates. Another movement, Climate Strike, emphasizes the importance of voting and provides services for registering voters via short message or online on the website.
“In the media and in the news we often hear that youth are indifferent and apathetic to politics. But that's not true. Youth want to vote in elections and are aware of the importance of this. Youth believe that voting in elections can make a difference,” said Adam Strong, a researcher at CIRCLE (The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement), in Washington D.C. (11/14)
Adam facilitated one of the sessions at the 2019 Opportunity Youth Network Summit in Washington D.C: “Overcoming Inequality in Voter Access in Elections.” In this session, Adam and Lashon Amado, Deputy Director of Opportunity Youth United, shared the results of their organization's research which discussed the barriers to voting faced by Opportunity Youth—young people aged between 16-24 who are not in school and/or not working.
“Expanding Voter Access,” the title of the study, shows that 88 percent of those surveyed believe that getting involved in elections is one way to make a difference. However, they find it difficult to get involved in elections because the information is not evenly distributed and access to vote is also not open. There are still youth who do not vote because they are not sure if they are properly informed about the election. Opportunity Youth also feel that they don't know who they can vote for and what their vote means. “Two out of five youth surveyed don't know where to vote,” Adam explains.
These young people from low-income backgrounds also face various logistical barriers to making choices. Some of these obstacles include difficulty in finding transportation to the polling station, difficulty in finding a place to leave children, or difficulty in finding someone to replace them when they work.
The problems and obstacles identified in this study form the basis for the community under the Opportunity Youth United Organization to develop programs that aim to improve voter access in elections. They work with election administrators at the local level. This collaboration was made so that election administrators with relatively limited knowledge about Opportunity Youth could connect with the community.
“This initiative is made so that election organizers actually come to the youth in the places where they actually live and overcome the obstacles they face," Adam added.
If election organizers better understand the priority needs of low-income youth—and, conversely, if youth understand election information compiled by election organizers—the two can make changes together to make access to elections more open.
Three local communities lead the initiative: Coalition for Responsible Community Development based in Los Angeles, California; United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona, and Soar based in Seattle, Washington. These local communities manage relationships with election administrators so that the work of election organizers can reach young people more broadly and more inclusively.
In Los Angeles, the Coalition for Responsible Community Development has an ambitious goal: to change the culture of voting. They plan to involve election organizers and other civil society organizations in designing communication materials. With this effort, Opportunity Youth is expected to be able to more easily access crucial information about elections.
“They (election organizers) meet a lot of people every day. We (Opportunity Youth) must always be on their radar,” said Luis Bautista-Morales, a member of the Coalition for Responsible Community Development.
In Arizona, the United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona co-author voter education materials with election organizers. One of the pieces of information presented is the right to vote for young people who have been or are currently being subjected to criminal acts.
“Some youth who commit serious crimes do not know that they can restore their voting rights. It will be an important part of the electing education material we are compiling. We will include information on how they can reinstate their rights so they can vote in elections,” Jasmine Jones, Youth Engagement Coordinator for Cradle to Carrier's United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona, who is leading the project in Tuscon, said in an interview (11/8).
In Seattle, Soar connects Opportunity Youth with election organizers. Soar has held three meetings with local election officials in King County. One of the dialogues was conducted at an alternative school in the eviction area.
“This is one of the great achievements because I was able to change the perspective of election organizers. We can both think about what we have missed in the voter education effort. We can brainstorm and figure out what to do next,” Makayla Wright, Youth Voice Organizer for Soar, who leads the effort in Seattle, said in an interview. (11/9)
The initiative led by these three communities is an attempt to address the gap between election organizers and low-income communities. This effort is made to build comfort and trust for youth to voice the challenges they face. This will help EMBs identify what works and what doesn't. It also helps EMBs to identify election information gaps and readjust that information so that it can be reached effectively.
