With the growing youth-led movement around gun control, young people across the country are motivated to change the future of our nation, but will this lead to increased voter turnout in November?
A report from Tufts University’s Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) shows that voter turnout fell to its lowest level on record among voters aged 18 – 29 in the 2014 midterm election. In that election, only 20% of eligible youth voted, but according to the Pew Research Center, voters aged 18-29 make up 31% of the total voting population.
Understanding that voters aged 18-29 make up nearly one-third of the total electorate, most youth engagement groups aim to increase voter turnout by focusing on nonpartisan voter registration and mobilization. However, by the time the votes are cast, all campaign decisions have been made and our voices as young people are not usually included.
Campaigns must engage young voters in the entire political process prior to election day; that’s much easier said than done.
What’s missing is a systematic feedback loop where young people mobilize to help elect leaders who will advocate for the values that are most important to our generation, and those same candidates who see the power of our organized generation will listen to our concerns and ideas for policy once they take office.
If progressives are going to win in 2018, and beyond, we must substantiate our efforts to organize young people. Blue Future is stepping up to fill the gap by working directly with progressive candidates to build their field programs and youth outreach networks.
Blue Future is a youth-led, progressive political organization that is training, organizing, and mobilizing young people and directly connecting them to progressive electoral campaigns. We fundraise to provide financial support to students who spend their time volunteering and organizing amidst classes, internships, and part-time jobs. This is a first step in developing a long-term pipeline of progressive youth leadership.
With our resources, students won’t have to choose between organizing in their community or taking a part-time job to pay for their education. This is just one example of the issues faced by our generation, making higher education more affordable.
If we can make it easier for young people to become more politically active, we have the power to elect candidates that could actually make a difference on the issues we care about.
Our immediate goal is to elect progressive candidates in 30 competitive Congressional districts across the country in 2018. Voters aged 18-29 could decide the election in nearly all of those districts. We targeted the districts using research from CIRCLE’s Youth Electoral Significance Index (YESI) that utilize indicators of demographics, historical voting patterns, and projected competitiveness to rank districts where youth voters can make the most impact.
We will train campus organizers in each district and provide them with a voter database, funding for transportation, and easy to use mobilization tools such as virtual phone banks and texting programs. They will register new voters on and off campus, and organize student volunteers to knock on doors, phone bank, and text bank.
Our generation will elect leaders who reduce the national debt, solve the ballooning student debt crisis, address gun violence, protect our health care, implement a fair tax code, work toward equality and racial equity, and protect the environment for generations to come.
In our effort to connect decision-makers in the Democratic party to youth voters, we are building a centralized website to connect campus activists to campaigns and progressive organizations across the nation. Whether someone is new to politics, or a more seasoned organizer, this hub will increase the coordination among future leaders of the progressive movement. And, in the process, create a dialogue directly between young people and the candidates who they’re helping to elect, ensuring youth voices are well represented in campaign platforms and strategy.
Making it easier for all young people to plug in directly to campaigns is a winning progressive strategy.
We’re ready to get to work, and hope you are too! Are you fired up and ready to go? Learn about ways to get involved here: http://ourbluefuture.us/get-involved/
Blue Future is the first and only project of the Youth Progressive Action Catalyst (YPAC), a registered Carey Committee (or Hybrid Federal PAC).