Youth education and removing barriers to voting is crucial to democracy
By LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS MINNEAPOLIS
In 1971 with the passage of the 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the voting age was lowered from 21 years to 18. Student protests against the Vietnam War played a big part in forcing this change. The protesters argued that if 18 year-olds could fight and die for their country, they should be given the right to vote.
Today, 18 – 29 year-olds are by far the lowest turnout voting bloc in the country. The question is: why, and what can be done about it?
A Brief History
There has always been a battle to secure the right to vote. In the 1700’s, only white male land-owners enjoyed the privilege. In 1870, following the Civil War, the 15th Amendment ensured that people couldn’t be legally denied the right to vote based on their race. Women fought hard for a place at that table, but lost the battle. It took until 1920, after a fifty year hard-fought campaign, that women finally gained the right to vote.
But in spite of legal gains, multiple forms of voter suppression – including poll taxes, literacy tests, English language requirements, and outright violence – continued to persist. It took the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to eliminate many of the voter suppression tactics that states employed to limit access by African American and other targeted groups.
Voting rights have been expanded to protect language minorities and people with disabilities, among other disenfranchised groups. But blatant and petty attempts at suppression and intimidation – eliminating voting locations, shortening hours – continue today. Without a civics education about the long struggle for the right to vote, young voters don’t have enough information to value this most basic democratic right – or to recognize that voting on issues they care about can impact them for years to come.
Voting Barriers Unique to This Group
Shannon Salter teaches civics in her working-class public high school. She found that during the pandemic students suffered increased isolation and many “barely talked to anyone.” As a result, many feel that their voice or opinion won’t make a difference. One student complained that social media and misinformation had “fried their attention spans.” Add to that issues of poverty and racism, and what youth see as “ego-driven and aimless politics” that do nothing to address the issues they face, and it’s not surprising that students don’t understand how voting could help change their lives.
On a more basic level, young voters who are willing to vote face confusing, logistical barriers including: missing the registration deadline; working while attending school; not knowing where to send an absentee ballot; not knowing where to find a polling place; not having access to public transportation; etc. When your life is fluid and unstable, and you don’t know where you’re going to be in the near future, it’s difficult to make a voting plan.
Finally, traditional political campaigns don’t reach out to this age group, cutting them off from basic candidate information. Political parties are still using old forms of media and communication, ignoring social media platforms preferred by, and more accessible to, young voters.
What Do Youth Care About
Youth-focused issues can differ from those of older voters. According to a recent study at Tufts University, their biggest concerns are jobs with a living wage, abortion, climate change, and gun violence. Caryn Scheel is the Youth Engagement Coordinator for Minneapolis Elections and Voter Services. She would add the following issues from the highly diverse and marginalized youth she works with; mental health, public transportation, and homelessness as it relates to safety.
Opportunities to Engage
Jahnavi Rao founded the non-profit, New Voters, eight years ago at the age of 16, to address her age group’s lack of engagement. Rao has found registration to be the key to young voter engagement and outcome. Her goal is to register 85% of eligible students in each of the 450 schools throughout the country that New Voters has targeted. Once registered, Rao has found that 80% of those new voters will cast a ballot.
Rao has had to win over teachers and administrators who consider discussing the election process to be political. New Voters begins its engagement process by holding non-partisan presentations in class home-rooms. Student leaders from clubs, sports, arts groups, etc., are identified to run each schools’ registration drive. They are assigned a mentor or are partnered with a community group like the League of Women Voters, who guide them through the process and provide registration materials. By being in charge and hands-on, these students gain ownership of the process and are able to pass on their expertise.
Caryn Scheel’s job in Minneapolis is to line up student election judges for 137 polling places, typically located in underrepresented communities with the lowest voter turnout. After years of pandemic-related isolation, many students feel isolated, depressed, and lacking in social skills. Scheel says that being given a direct role in the election process not only helps develop personal confidence, but also raises trust in how elections are run. An added benefit is that this sends a positive message to the families and communities of each newly engaged student.
Local Initiatives to Enlist Voters and Build Leadership
Information and resources for high school voters from the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office: These include a teachers’ guide for registering students to vote; a statewide mock election; high school student resources; registration materials; webinars; elections dictionary; and much more. Access them through sos.state.mn.us/elections-voting/get-involved.
Support for college and university students and for those serving in the military from the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office: These include Elections resources; webinars; study abroad toolkit; and more. Access them through sos.state.mn.us/elections-voting/get-involved
Higher Education Student Outreach: Based on accepting state and/or federal aid, postsecondary institutions are required to provide student housing lists to the county. The institutions must provide student registration forms to enrolled students in the fall and spring semesters. A campus vote coordinator must be appointed and the student government must be included in developing a voter engagement plan. Access details through sos.state.mn.us/elections-voting/get-involved.
The Minnesota Youth Council “envisions a state where decisions that impact youth are made WITH and BY young people.” Its focus is on shaping policy and decision making, including in the area of civic engagement. To learn more, go to mnyouth.net/myc.
Minneapolis CityWide Student Leadership Board employs thirty students from twelve schools with diverse backgrounds to identify projects, collect data from their schools, and identify solutions. They advise district leaders regarding the educational experience in the MN Public Schools. To learn more, go to mpschools.org/departments/student-engagement.
Conclusion
The problems of low youth turnout and engagement are there, but once identified, with work they are solvable. Already there are positive impacts from pre-registration, automatic registration, and same-day registration. But one thing is clear; the political parties need to sit up and listen. Gen Z and Millennials are scheduled to become a majority of the electorate later in this decade. If they are mobilized, they have the opportunity to shape the future for all of us whether we give them a voice or not. So, take three young people to a polling place. You won’t regret it!
This is the sixth article in the League of Women Voters Minneapolis Democracy Series. All previous articles are available at http://www.lwvmpls.org/for-voters
