National Voter Education Week: Youth Resources
- Equal Ground
- Oct 6
- 2 min read
It’s National Voter Education Week (NVEW) an open-source, nonpartisan voter education campaign. Each day this week we will highlight a key group within our coalition and the ways we can all increase voter education.
Together, we can help voters overcome common barriers to become confident voters and ambassadors of voting in their own communities for every election.
Why this coalition space is needed / role
A space for young leaders to share their vision for the future, and drive change through civic engagement. This group focuses on building youth power, strengthening leadership skills, and ensuring the voices of the next generation shape the policies that affect them. By organizing together, we hope to close the voter participation gap among youth as they shape policies that will impact them for decades to come.
Important Data
States with “youth-friendly” policies (same-day registration, preregistration) tend to have higher youth turnout. Minnesota led with 62% youth turnout in 2024. The states with the least voter turnout amongst the youth were Oklahoma and Arkansas with 33%.
Florida youth voter turnout was around 50%, which was higher than the national average (47%)
Nationally, only 34% Black youth vs. 55% white youth voted in 2024 (Tufts CIRCLE).
How we work together (Deliverables)
Future Engagement: To get involved with our Youth Empowerment Coalition space please fill out this google form. We will host a kickoff call: the 3rd week of November, More details to follow.
Leadership Training: Participate in Equal Ground’s Take the Lead: Youth Edition training to strengthen leadership skills and prepare the next generation of civic leaders.
Encourage Civic Advocacy: Organize youth-driven campaigns to send emails and messages to legislators on issues young people care about, such as climate change, education, and equity.
Preregistration: Florida’s teachers also play a vital role in growing the next generation of voters. Voter pre-registration at age 16(allowed in Florida) lets high schools get students ready to vote at 18
School & Campus Engagement: Host after-school and student club presentations that include voter registration drives and Commit to Vote (CTV) card collections.
Peer-to-Peer Mobilization: Launch “Bring 3 Friends to the Polls” campaigns to increase turnout and build a culture of participation among first-time and young voters.
Hear from Seven Charleston of Las Semillas Seeds of Pine Hills about the work he's doing around youth power building.