We always knew that 2020 was going to be a pivotal year for our country, but we had no idea everything we would face from a global pandemic to the historic uprisings against police violence. Young people persevered, innovated, and made their voices heard in one of the most important elections of our lifetime. Youth-led organizations in the Alliance Network brilliantly rose up to meet the moment and build alongside the most diverse and progressive generations our country has ever seen.
In 2020, Millennials and Gen Z accounted for 31% of voters, up from 14% in 2008 according to data from Catalist. So, all eyes were on the youth vote and young people delivered. By organizing their peers in person and online to meet the challenges of this uncertain time, the youth organizers in the Alliance network changed the narrative about the power of the youth vote. In 2020, we saw a record-breaking 11-point increase in youth voter turnout from 2016!
How did this happen? Year-round, youth-led organizing. Alliance organizations register, educate, and mobilize young people every day because our civic engagement does not start and end at the ballot box. In 2020 this looked like:
- 25,000,000 youth voter contacts made
- 107,494 young people registered to vote
- 8,396,885 calls to young voters
- 6,502,136 texts to young voters
When organizations were not turning out young people to vote, they were passing progessive policies in their communities. From removing cops from schools to expanding voting access, young people took action to build brighter futures.
The Alliance fueled this work by investing in young leaders, providing critical tools and services, regranting millions of dollars to the field, and strengthening the capacity of the network because we are committed to building strong organizations for the long haul.
All of this is just a small part of everything the Alliance Network accomplished last year. Luckily, we have captured it all in our newly released 2020 Annual Report.
Once you’ve checked out our amazing report please share on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.