Women’s Equality Day and Why Next Gen Voters Matter Now More Than Ever

We’re sorry to interrupt your summer, but the 2024 primaries start 5 months from today. WHO. IS. READY.

So began an Instagram post that caught my eye from I am a voter®, the non-partisan organization shifting modern narratives around voting and civic engagement.

And as we celebrated Women’s Equality Day this weekend, honoring the passage of the 19th Amendment which granted some women (not all) the right to vote, an answer kept circling in my mind.

Young women are ready.

According to a Pew Research Center report issued on the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, about half of Americans (49%) said granting women the right to vote has been the most important milestone in advancing the position of women in the country.

Still, the same report continued, a majority of U.S. adults said the nation has not gone far enough when it comes to giving women equal rights with men.

Working daily at Être with next gen girls as they consider issues of the day, craft insightful TED-Ed talks and interview women in leading roles, I believe today’s girls agree.

Noting that we still have a long way to go making the workforce and pay equal for women and the candidates I want to vote for will be the ones focusing on issues I care about…like making air cleaner or college more affordable, the nation’s next voters are asking for more and their concerns don’t automatically fall along party lines.

Click to play.

“Gen Z doesn’t necessarily feel a strong allegiance to either party,” states Sophie Beren, founder and CEO of non-partisan Gen Z political platform The Conversationalist in a recent interview with ABC News (at 1:22), “but rather they feel a strong desire for politicians to prioritize the issues that threaten their future, especially when it comes to affordability and climate.”

“Gen Z voters are most concerned,” Beren continues, “about issues of economy - more specifically, inflation, home ownership and student loans – as well as issues of mental health…[and] as we know, Gen Z is a value-based, issue-based generation.”

So where can this voting bloc, growing in awareness and size, get the non-partisan but issue-packed information they need?

Here’s where organizations like I am a voter come in, and their impact cannot be overstated.

Click to play.

Founded in 2018 by Mandana Dayani, I am a voter is a powerhouse movement with a mission to create “a cultural shift around voting and civic engagement by unifying around a central truth: our democracy works best when we all participate.”

Who is not participating?

According to I am a voter data, only 23% of eligible young voters (ages 18-29) turned out to vote in the 2022 midterms. Why? More than one in five newly eligible voters (ages 18-21) said they were not registered to vote because they did not know how. Given that Gen Z and millennial voters will account for nearly 40% of votes in the 2024 election, and the fact that four million Americans turn 18 every year, there are 16 million new voters who will be eligible to vote in 2024.

“Every two years, more than 8 million youth become newly eligible to vote,” confirmed I am a voter founding member Maddy Roth when I reached out to her, “and about half are youth of color. How powerful is that?!”

That’s 8 million new voters who are uniquely impacted by issues ranging from education, healthcare, environment, racial justice, housing, immigration – the list goes on – and who now have another tool in their toolbox to help shape the country they want to see. First time voters’ lived experiences and voices are critical in making sure representatives are making policy decisions that truly reflect the people serve and are being held accountable accordingly.

Where can newly eligible voters go for registration checklists, text reminders and data that speaks to their issues?

I am a voter delivers in a way and with a voice that resonates with tomorrow’s voters. With help registering for the first time or fast ways to check if you are already registered, the organization makes early steps simple. Clever election reminders sent via text meet new voters where they are, and downloadable assets make the message easy to share with friends on social – encouraging Gen Z to turn out with the same energy as they did for Barbie, Oppenheimer and Taylor Swift, making this voter movement “as epic as a Marvel movie.”

Democracy works best when we all participate. And I am a voter knows it.

“I think a lot about how every election we are responsible for preserving our rights, like we don't just get to keep them forever,” Dayani told MSNBC last week. “We have to maintain them…my daughter today has fewer rights than I did when I came to this country, and that is disturbing.”

Unquestionably disturbing.

But perhaps, fixable.

Organizations like I am a voter know that to expand rights, it’s right to expand the electorate. With 1 president, 1 vice president, 33 of 100 Senate seats, all 435 House seats, governor seats in 11 states, and a host of state, local and special elections on the ballot in 2024, next gen voters matter now more than ever.

Because the sooner they are in the voting booth…the sooner they might be on the ballot.

Looking forward,

Illana

ÊXTRAS: Where else can new voters go to find details about registering and issue-based data? Here are three extra resources you won’t want to miss: All In Together, Headcount and Rock the Vote.

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