Young people turned out in big numbers across the country for the midterm elections. Now, youth organizers in the Alliance Network plan to finish the job by holding elected officials accountable to young people. 

Alliance Network organizers are deep into their legislative sessions, and we’re excited to share what they’ve been up to! We asked Alliance staff members to share what legislative work in the network they’re most excited about Here is what they had to say…

Virginia Student Power Network

Chicago Votes

Chicago Votes also helped pass legislation that requires every person leaving the prison system receive civic education classes. In 2021, this program was expanded to require that the Department of Juvenile Justice provide a civics education workshop to youth leaving the system.

The Washington Bus

The Work on the Inside

The Alliance staff provides youth organizers and senior leadership staff in the network with the opportunity to build community with other Alliance Network staffers in our cohort spaces. To kick off the year, we gathered the Communications Cohort, Data Cohort, and the Program Cohort to talk about navigating their legislative sessions. Attendees shared how they’re navigating the legislative session, teams completed a narrative building exercise, and we shared resources for rapid-response work and data tracking!

Stay tuned for more updates from us on the work happening across the network and behind-the-scenes at the Alliance. Want to receive these updates via email? Join the Alliance Allies list today and get the inside scoop on how we’re supporting our network this year through strategic planning and capacity building. 

Happy Black History Month, or as we like to call it, Black Futures Month!

Young Black people have always been at the forefront of social change in our nation. And the Black youth leaders in the Alliance Network are no different. From expanding voting access, to protecting abortion access, to fighting for economic justice in their communities, the young Black leaders in our network are paving the way to a brighter future every single day.

To celebrate Black history and Black futures, we asked Black leaders in the Alliance Network to share with us who inspires them and what legacy they want to leave behind for future generations. 

Take a look at what they all had to say 👇🏽

Karanja Matory, Mississippi Votes

What do you want to be your legacy? How is the work you’re doing now building to that legacy?

For my legacy, I just want to be able to add to the work that’s already been done and make a better Mississippi. The work I’m doing now is setting me up to help lead and develop the next group of young folks that’ll be able to add to what I envision which is change and more progressive mindset people to be on the forefront for  Mississippi. 

Jay Beck, MOVE Texas

What do you want to be your legacy? How is the work you’re doing now building to that legacy?

I want my legacy to be having fostered connection through kindness, understanding, and humor. I’m working towards my legacy by inspiring actions rooted in solidarity and continuing to lead with joy in the face of challenges and hardships.

Carmel Pryor, Alliance for Youth Action

What do you want to be your legacy? How is the work you’re doing now building to that legacy?

I believe in the power of art, media, and technology to be a catalyst in tackling the social injustice issues of our time. And I want my legacy to reflect the creativity and skills I use in communications and artmaking to move Black people, particularly queer Black youth, towards liberation. 

Briyana Joseph, Engage Miami

What do you want to be your legacy? How is the work you’re doing now building to that legacy?

When I become an ancestor I hope people say, “Bri, was for the community and she wasn’t afraid to get in good trouble.”  The work I’m doing now to build that legacy looks like having conversations with young people on college campuses to register them to vote, inform them about their local elections, and help them develop their knowledge, skills, and confidence around local civics so that they can organize their communities around the issues they care about. Outside of working with Engage Miami, I am on the board of an organization that is fighting for housing justice in Miami-Dade County and South Florida, which is the issue most near and dear to my heart.

Lyla Brown, Forward Montana

What do you want to be your legacy? How is the work you’re doing now building to that legacy?

I hope that when people think of me, they think of someone that would show up no matter what with warmth, intention, and care. I want to live in a world where Black women are not expected to show up and be ready to fight every day of their lives, but in a world that values the softness and strength that we bring with us every day.

Eliana Reed, Alliance for Youth Action

What do you want to be your legacy? How is the work you’re doing now building to that legacy?

I do this work because I want a world where everyone knows how easy it is to be a piece of the puzzle that is changemaking. Whether your action is small or big, it takes all of us to make the change we want to see, and the longer I’ve been doing this work the more I’ve seen people actually believe that. I want people to remember me as a friend, a sister, a daughter, or a colleague who was a piece of the puzzle that made our world better.

Earlier this week, President Biden addressed the nation with a second State of the Union speech since taking office in 2020. If you missed out on the speech, the Alliance team reacted on social media all evening long with our SOTU BINGO and live tweets. Catch up on our social channels now!

During this year’s State of the Union address, Biden celebrated creating new jobs, passing a slate of bipartisan legislation, and seeing falling inflation rates. Among other things, Biden also promised to veto any abortion bans passed by Congress, highlighted the importance of fighting to keep our democracy strong, and shared plans to rebuild America’s middle class. But the biggest takeaway from the President’s address was that America has the tools to be better, we just need to finish the job.

It’s a tale as old as time. Youth organizers have always been the backbone of progress in this country, and 2023 is already shaping up to be a big year for change at the local and state levels. The Alliance Network isn’t sleeping on this opportunity, we’re here to finish the job. 

On the heels of President Biden’s State of the Union address, we wanted to share a glimpse of what issue organizing will look like on the ground in a big year for legislation and state budgeting. Here’s how Alliance youth organizers are creating progressive people power at the local and state levels to get the job done and change their communities.

Jump To…

Democracy & Voting Rights

Reproductive Rights & Abortion Access

Economic Justice

Engaging in State Budgets

Democracy & Voting Rights

Mississippi Votes

Mississippi Votes and their partners are working to pass legislation that would reinstate the ballot initiative process with more detailed language around the number of congressional districts, and number of signatures required to petition an initiative. 

They’re also working on passing legislation that would allow for Electronic Absentee Voting for college students. This would give students the accessibility to cast their vote on laptops or computers, essentially creating the space to vote anywhere on campus with internet access. 

Detroit Action 

Organizers at Detroit Action are working to identify a number of upgrades to Michigan’s automatic voter registration law, created by PTV18. Some of these upgrades include pre-registration of 16-year-olds via Automatic Voter Registration (AVR), tribal AVR that would allow Michigan’s American Indian nations to opt-in collectively to a process for AVR of their citizens, and upgrades to the DMV process to maximize registration rates among eligible voters. 

Loud Light

Over in Kansas, Loud Light has grown into the lead advocate on voting rights in their state. This year, they’re leading coalition calls, creating talking points, lobbying for and against bills, and organizing testimonies at the Legislature. 

Loud Light is also continuing with lawsuits against voter suppression bills. This year, they plan to push back against a bill that would remove the ability for students to use student IDs to vote.

MOVE Texas

In 2021, Texans faced a power-hungry state leadership more focused on limiting the freedom to vote than working to be accountable to the people. In 2023, MOVE Texas is calling on the Texas Legislature to Get Sh*t Done and will organize young Texans to apply the pressure for electeds to pass policies that reflect their values and fight against policies that violate them.

The Washington Bus

Washington has a fresh slate of voting rights legislation this session that our friends at The Washington Bus are fighting for. SB 5208 would make online voter registration accessible to people without drivers licenses, SB 5112 contains several enhancements to the state’s automatic voter registration won in 2018. HB 1755 would expand the Democracy Voucher Program to allow everyday people to have political power by strengthening their voice and providing every eligible Washingtonian with vouchers to give to the candidate(s) of their choice in their district. 

Reproductive Rights & Abortion Access

New Era Colorado

In 2023, the New Era Colorado team will be engaging their base young people and campus leaders to build youth advocacy power around their The Brazen Project work that includes introducing legislation to regulate anti-abortion centers and their deceptive practices including false advertising.

Economic Justice

Next Up

Next Up is a part of the 2023 Fair Shot for All coalition, a group working to champion an agenda that prioritizes racial, gender, and economic justice during the 2023 Oregon State Legislative Session. Their priorities include Indigenous language justice, reproductive & gender justice, and creating stable homes for Oregon families. 

Minnesota Youth Collective

Youth organizers in Minnesota are working on housing policy on the state level this year. Minnesota Youth Collective is working in coalition to draft a policy around a statewide tenant bill of rights. They’re also working to strengthen the St. Paul rent control efforts as the city government continues to try and weaken them.

Engaging in State Budgets

2023 is a budget year for many of our network states. Here’s how some Alliance organizers plan on engaging with their state’s budget process:

Leaders Igniting Transformation 

Black and Brown youth organizers in Wisconsin will be engaging with the state budget process to ensure they have a voice in the decision making, especially around higher education funding. LIT also plans on hosting another Lobby Day in connection to the budget process to support equitable funding for k-12 public schools and affordability and accessibility of higher education.

Engage Miami

Engage Miami is building power with the Young People Policy Priorities Platform, kicking off this month! This is a budgetary campaign that will have a big focus on reimagining libraries in Miami.

Ohio Student Association 

Ohio youth organizers have a huge slate of higher education-related priorities for this year’s state budget process including restructuring the Ohio College Opportunity Grant so it can be used for expenses beyond tuition and fees, stopping schools from withholding transcripts to leverage payment of fees, and getting the Ohio Attorney General out of the business of collecting student debt.

New Hampshire Youth Movement

This year, New Hampshire Youth Movement will mobilize members to advocate for a progressive state budget. The state’s original abortion ban was passed through the last state budget so youth involvement in this year’s budget will be critical for protecting abortion access and other progressive policies.

NHYM is also focusing on growing their base to educate young people about the legislative process and mobilizing them to civically engage by supporting or opposing bills via sign-ins, testimonies, and outreach to elected officials. 

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Stay connected with the Alliance because we’ve got plenty more to come in areas like affordable housing, LGBTQ+ advocacy, climate justice, marijuana decriminalization, ending policing in schools, Indigenous and tribal advocacy, and restorative justice. Stay connected with the Alliance via email by using this form to choose your Alliance Squad. And, of course, make sure you’re following us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

The youth vote was essential to many progressive wins we saw in the midterms, so we’ll be tuning in to ensure that President Biden is aligned with the issues and values we voted for in 2022. While we have seen some success thus far into Biden’s term, a lot still needs to be addressed before we head back into another general election year. Tonight, young voters will be eagerly waiting to hear Biden’s vision for addressing issues important to us as we enter the second half of his presidential term. 

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Here are some of the issues Alliance Network youth organizers work on 365 days a year that  we hope Biden will address tonight: 

• Voting rights
• Abortion access
• Economic justice
• Restorative justice
• Policing
• Student debt
• Climate action

Don’t forget to tune into the Alliance’s digital platforms later this week for a more in-depth look into the Alliance Network’s local organizing work across the country this year.

Happy New Year, Alliance Fam! 

We are kicking off 2023 by taking a glimpse into our future here at the Alliance. We have so much in store for our youth organizers all across the network.

At the Alliance, we don’t believe in off-years. This year, Alliance Network Organizations are diving deep into their work at the local level. Now is the time to connect with and civically engage more young people, and hold the officials elected last year accountable now that they’re in office. 

Take a glimpse into what some of your favorite Alliance programs are going to look like this year!

This Year We’re Manifesting…

Strengthening Democracy 

The Alliance Network engages young people in democracy reform advocacy that varies across the network. The issues our network organize around include fair redistricting, expanding Vote By Mail (VBM), voting rights restoration, lowering the voting age, defending against anti-voter legislation, defending and expanding access to vote for college students, educating voters on recent changes, and election protection. 

While many Alliance Network organizations have won on these issues, there’s still plenty of work to be done across the network to ensure young people can thrive in a democracy that is done right. This year we’re calling on all the artists in our network to shine a light on how they’re advancing democracy in the communities through our first-ever Democracy Done Right zine!

Our new Advocacy Director, Kayla Rivera, will take the lead on a new democracy cohort pilot program that will support six network organizations- Chicago Votes, Forward Montana, New Era Colorado, Detroit Action, Engage Miami, and Mississippi Votes- in launching or advancing a democracy advocacy program. Within this program, the Alliance will provide capacity-building services to the cohort around organizing training, materials, and templates related to advocacy work, ongoing strategic consultation, campaign development support, and financial resources (as we can raise).

Who is able to access the ballot and how in 2024 will be determined in state legislative chambers across the country in 2023, and the Alliance is stepping up to ensure everyone is involved in our Democracy.

Want to learn more about how youth organizers are fighting to protect our democracy? Sign up to stay updated on the latest in democracy from the Alliance.

Investing in Political Homes for Young People

This year, we’re also excited to host an in-person network-wide conference to continue building the skills young leaders need to build youth power in their states! If you like seeing how we build youth power across the network, join the Alliance Allies email list! This year we’re sharing more exclusive updates via email on our Strategic Roadmap, and giving you more insight into our capacity building work happening behind-the-scenes.

Hear From the Network

We asked youth organizers in the Alliance Network what they are excited about this year. From passing progressive policies to reaching more young people, our network has some big plans for 2023. Check out what they said on our Instagram!

As always, we’re so grateful to have you along with us on this journey to grow the progressive power of young people across the country. We know that by investing in powerful young leaders and strengthening the capacity of their organizations, we’re changing our communities for the better. Here’s to building the most progressive and diverse leadership America has ever seen!

In case you missed it, the Alliance did a lot of awesome work this year! Here is a recap of everything that made this a year to remember.

Young people made the difference this year, and we can’t lose momentum. Growing the progressive people-power in our communities is a year-round job, and now is not the time to sit back. Join us to #PowerProgress for the future! Now through the end of 2022, your donation will be matched by our friends at Democratizing Philanthropy Project! 

Jump To…

Fueling Civic Engagement

• Civics Holidays
• Democracy Done Right Week of Action
• Youth FTW
• Democracy Debut
• 2022 Midterm Elections

Tackling Student Debt Crisis

• Dreams Not Debt Week of Action
• Student Debt Rally at the Dept. of Education
• Biden’s Student Debt Announcement

Deepening Network Engagement

• Youth Organizer Spotlights
• Network Program Retreat
• Monthly Membership Competition
• Embed Program

Making Headlines

• Polling
• Top Press Hits

Fueling Civic Engagement

Tackling the Student Debt Crisis

Deepening Network Engagement

Making Headlines

And after all of our work this year, we made a splash in the press! Check out some of our biggest press hits from 2022:

We are incredibly grateful to have you support us through all of these amazing moments from this last year. From everyone across the Alliance Network, we thank you! Let’s close out the year with a period of radical rest and recharge, and get ready to take on the excitement and challenges of the new year.

Onward!

Democracy on the Ballot

The Alliance Network saw the incredible power of the youth vote in this year’s midterms first-hand. Just this week, Rev. Raphael Warnock won re-election to the US Senate thanks to Black women-led organizations like New Georgia Project and Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda who helped to turn out a record number of young voters, particularly Black youth. And with help from the Alliance! We ran a call program that made approximately 800,000 calls to young Georgians after early voting ended to remind them of the stakes of the runoff election, and to help them make a plan to vote for Warnock.

And sure enough, young voters in Georgia emerged to be a critical demographic in the runoff election.

According to data from the Georgia Secretary of State’s office, voters under 30 cast around 156,000 early ballots in the runoff. More than 91,000 Gen Z voters aged 18 to 24 cast their ballots in-person or by absentee ballot. With young voters overwhelmingly supporting Warnock, the results of the Georgia runoff reflect how young people will continue to respond to candidates who focused on issues important to them like climate change, abortion rights, and student debt relief.

As young people continue to be fierce defenders of our democracy, here are some of the voting rights wins we are celebrating from the local youth organizing that got out the youth vote in this year’s midterm elections:

Detroit Action helped Michigan voters pass Proposal 2, a constitutional amendment to establish early voting, preempt efforts to enact more stricter voter ID rules, and expand access to absentee voting. With battles over election administration remaining prominent in American politics, this amendment was a huge win for voting rights in Michigan, giving voters an opportunity to weigh in directly on future election rules.

Thanks to grassroots organizing in Colorado, youth voter turnout in a midterm election hit historic highs this year. New Era Colorado’s base turned out at 60%, second only to the historic highs of the 2018 midterm. High turnout led to a bevy of victories down the ballot such as passing key ballot measures around housing, and free healthy school meals.

Earlier this year, Forward Montana fought hard in the courts this year for Election-Day registration and won! This led to many more young Montanans utilizing this opportunity to cast their ballot on Election Day.

Next Up saw big wins in Portland this year after young voters won the Portland Charter Reform which will allow for more voice and choice in elections, and geographic representation.

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The work doesn’t stop at the midterms. When our youth are civically engaged from a young age, they become lifetime voters. Through our newest campaign, Democracy Debut, we are engaging with first-time voters to hear their stories on what issues are driving them to the polls this November and beyond. Here’s what they had to say 👇🏽

Did you or someone you know vote for the first time in this year’s midterms? Let’s celebrate with you! Submit your story and tell the world how you made your Democracy Debut!

A democracy done right is all about ensuring citizens have easy, safe access to the ballot box in a way that best fits their needs. Our democracy will face new challenges in 2023, the voting rights wins, driven by the network’s grassroots organizing in 2022, show that their communities want reform that will make a democracy done right a reality for everyone.

Join the movement today to help us continue defending our democracy into the new year. 

Our vote is our power, let’s defend it together.

Thousands of student debt activists took action through our Dreams Not Debt campaign to demand President Biden make good on his campaign promise to cancel federal student loan debt, and back in August, we won! Biden made a historical announcement that included up to $10K of federal student debt forgiveness and $20K for Pell Grant recipients. Let’s not forget the various efforts from young people across the country that brought us this win.

But now, new challenges stand in our way. Here’s the latest with the student loan forgiveness program:

• The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (led by six Republican-led states) has issued an injunction that is currently blocking the student loan forgiveness program from being carried out. So applicants, many of whom have already received notice that their application is approved, still have yet to see a dollar of forgiveness through this plan.
• The United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments for the case in February, leaving the injunction in place until then.
• In response to this injunction, the student loan payment pause will extend until the U.S. Department of Education is permitted to implement the debt relief program or the litigation is resolved–payments will restart 60 days later. If the debt relief program has not been implemented and the litigation has not been resolved by June 30th, 2023 – payments will resume 60 days after that.

So, what does this mean?

Suppose the legal challenges against President Biden’s loan forgiveness plan are not resolved by June 30th. In that case, borrowers who qualify for this program will have to resume student loan payments despite being promised loan forgiveness time and time again.

Take Action

We fought hard for student loan forgiveness and won. That means student loan payments should only resume once that promise is delivered. Take action with us by telling President Biden to continue the pause on federal student loan payments as long as the legal battles against this program continue.

Share on Social

The journey to canceling student debt has not been an easy one. From all of us at the Alliance, and borrowers from across the country, we thank you for your continued support and advocacy. Together we can bring this win forward and continue moving to improve America’s higher education system to reach more of our dreams, not debt.

Today, we’re celebrating Dakota’s one-year anniversary as our Executive Director at the Alliance! Dakota leads us with the belief that through the power of youth organizing, we can create a liberated community. And under his leadership this past year, we have strived toward that vision.

Celebrate Dakota’s First Year with a Donation

Accomplishments Under Dakota’s Lead

Here is just a glimpse of what we’ve accomplished under Dakota’s leadership in the past year:

• Supported Alliance Network youth organizers to mobilize young people at historic rates to show up in the midterms, exceeding expectations and beating the odds. 
• Uplifted the incredible on-the-ground work from youth organizers in our network through op-eds, press, podcast interviews, and more. Check out this Democracy Docket op-ed and MTV segment.
• Moved more than $6 million directly to local organizations and helped facilitate another $4.6 million to scale their program to turn out young voters to elect candidates and pass ballot initiatives that take action on the issues young people care about most. 
• Hosted our first in-person convening in 3 years for senior staff at local youth-led organizations in the Alliance Network to strengthen their on-the-ground electoral and issue organizing in their communities.
• Provided the Alliance Network with a public health consultant to return to organizing in person across the network safely.
• Sent Alliance national staff across the country to support the Alliance Network in getting out the youth vote.

Share on Social Media

Share these posts honoring Dakota’s leadership on social media to help us reach our goal!

Joy and celebration are so important in our movement. And with you cheering us on in the years ahead, we’ll be able to muster even more energy to fight for the issues young people care about most.

To this new era of leadership building youth power in the years to come!

Alliance Network youth organizers prepared young people in their communities to show up informed and ready to cast their ballots in this year’s midterms. And now, we are looking back at all of the hard work youth organizers put in this year to help turn out around 27% of youth (ages 18-29) making this the second-highest youth voter turnout in a midterm election in the last three decades.

Young people were also the only age group to break for Democrats. Black and Latino youth gave Democrats their strongest support with 89% of Black youth and 68% of Latino youth voting for Democratic House candidates. Young people (18-29) supported Democrats nationwide on average 63% compared to 35% for Republicans. This is historic, and the third-largest gap in history.

Here is a snapshot of the work the Alliance Network did this year to mobilize young people and fight for our future. 

The Alliance Network wins by organizing young people year-round, and this year we can thank youth organizers for several wins in this election. 

Here’s a glimpse at some of the local wins we’ve been celebrating:

After a partnership with the Chicago Bears, Chicago Votes was featured on ESPN. They are heading into a veto session in the coming weeks to advocate for Senate Bill 828, which restores voting rights to people currently incarcerated.

This cycle, Engage Miami organized around, and recently won on Referendum #210 which increases teacher’s pay in Miami-Dade County!

Every. Vote. Counts. And Forward Montana recognizes that now more than ever after they supported the re-election of a critical progressive legislator in Montana  who won his race by a few hundred votes. 

In Wisconsin, Leaders Igniting Transformation (LIT) knocked over 120,00 doors this cycle, accompanying that with 250,000 calls, and 73,000 voter guides distributed to young folks across the state helping Democratic incumbent Gov. Tony Evers declare victory.

MOVE Texas is celebrating local wins related to climate action in South Texas.

Next Up won proportional representation in Portland, Oregon. With Measure 26-228’s passage, Portland will now use ranked choice voting in elections for mayor, auditor, and city council, create four City Council districts with three representatives each, and appoint a professional city administrator to manage all city services, starting in 2024. Oregon also voted to remove language from its constitution that allowed slavery as punishment.

Thanks to their rigorous work engaging Asian American voters, North Carolina Asian Americans Together (NCAAT) saw a huge increase in AAPI early vote numbers. A 66% increase from 2018, and 7x more than in 2014. They are also celebrating wins for 18 of their 22 endorsed candidates!

Detroit Action won two ballot measures! Proposal 2, the voter rights amendment to their state constitution, and another to enshrine abortion rights. They also celebrate nine of their 11 endorsed candidates who won their races!

New Hampshire Youth Movement (NHYM) is celebrating wins for 18 out of 28 of their endorsed candidates, including one former NHYM staff member who won a seat in the New Hampshire State House!

This year, Loud Light in Kansas won their abortion ballot initiative and Governor’s race. They also had nearly 40 fellows organizing college students across ten different campuses. Alongside the ACLU of Kansas, they also ran a statewide Election Protection program with nearly 150 poll observers across 20 different counties. Loud Light was also able to rally over 1,000 volunteers to take action in their various engagements. 

Asian Community Development Council (ACDC) endorsed two ballot measures that both passed! One measure was to adopt what is widely considered the most comprehensive state version of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in the nation. It amends the state Constitution to ensure equal rights for all, “regardless of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, ancestry, or national origin.” The other measure was around raising the minimum wage.

This year’s election showed that young people are not only reimagining a democracy done right, but also reimagining what this country could be in the future because young people are pissed off. They are angry that this country has set them up for failure. They are angry that social security nets and social barriers are being broken down. They are upset the Supreme Court took away their constitutional right to abortion access. 

And youth organizers in the Alliance Network were able to channel this anger into historic youth voter turnout and get major wins throughout the country that will create a better future for all of us. This year, the youth vote made the difference, but we won’t stop here. We’re channeling this energy to move us to 2024 and beyond!

Across 18 states, our network turned out young voters in their states, leading to some incredible victories and preserving our democracy. Next week, we’ll dive deeper into the Alliance Network’s impact on this year’s midterm elections. But let’s not wait to celebrate! Here are just a few highlights from the Alliance Network so far.

Gen Z and Millennials will continue to be the largest voting bloc for years to come, and they have proven time and time again that they will show up to vote and change the outcome of elections. Time and time again, polls have been wrong about us, and we say instead of listening to a pollster, listen to a local youth organizer. 

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Happy Election Day, Alliance Fam!

Young people across the Alliance Network have been organizing their communities all year long, and it’s all been leading up to today. Election Day is finally here and we have so much to celebrate already. As of yesterday, more than 6 million Gen-Z and Millennial voters have cast a ballot. And so far, we have seen major wins happen, thanks to the local youth-led grassroots organizing happening across the network. 

The Power of Year-Round Local Youth Organizing

During their August primary, Loud Light worked in coalition to stop a constitutional amendment that would ban abortion in Kansas and they WON! With Kansas voters being the first to vote on abortion access post-Roe, this was a huge win led by young people. Thanks to Chicago Votes organizers, Cook County Jail (recently made a polling place thanks to a 2019 win) had record turnout of 24.9% in their primary. Forward Montana also celebrated a win after challenging voter suppression laws passed by the state legislature that made it more difficult for young Montanans to cast their ballot. And because of the power of the youth vote, the opposition is actively targeting youth of color with disinformation. Earlier this month, North Carolina Asian Americans Together (NCAAT) called out and discredited disinformation seeking to mislead and harm the AAPI community. Youth organizers in our network will continue to stand resilient against attempts to suppress and silence our votes.

Vote Today

Haven’t voted yet? It’s not too late to use the Alliance’s #VoteReady hub to make a plan to vote today! Find your polling place and see what’s on your ballot all in one place. 

And here are some important things to remember:

• Voter intimidation is illegal and should always be reported. Call or text the Election Protection hotline to connect with a trained volunteer or to report voting issues:
  • 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683)
  • info@866ourvote.org
• Election night is not always results night and election workers are there to ensure every vote gets counted accurately. Election workers need time to count every single vote — including in person, mail, absentee, overseas, and military ballots. Every vote counts and so we must #counteveryvote.
• Our elections have been proven to be secure. There are rigorous processes in place for testing and certifying voting machines, along with procedures to ensure accuracy. Claims about flawed or compromised voting machines have been repeatedly debunked and are a tactic to try to keep eligible voters from casting their ballots. Don’t let these claims stop you from having your voice heard. 

What’s at Stake

Youth organizers in the Alliance Network know that young people are multi-issue voters who are facing so much. In Michigan, they are fighting for abortion access. In Wisconsin, they are fighting to preserve democracy. In Florida, they are fighting against authoritarianism. These issues and so much more are on ballots across our Alliance Network states. 

A climate crisis, mental health issues leading to high rates of suicide, Black and Brown youth being targeted, profiled, and killed by the police, young people who have been through multiple economic crises in their lives and are now stunted by rising housing prices, low wages, and recessions and now – young people know a world without federal constitutional protection of abortion rights.

And it is youth organizers from coast to coast who have invested in and built with young people year-round to address these issues and protect the freedom to vote in their states. And for youth organizers in the Alliance Network who are at the forefront of fighting for these issues, they’re directly impacted as well. So, today is a celebration of young people’s resilience in the face of these threats to our democracy and to our lives. After today, the fight continues. Join our Democracy Done Right campaign to stay tuned on what’s next. 

Share Your Democracy Debut Story

Are you or someone you know voting for the first time in this year’s midterm elections? We want to hear your first-time voter story! The Alliance is rolling out the red carpet to celebrate first-time voters making their Democracy Debut this November.

Hear from first-time voters that have shared their stories with us already.

Send us your story and tell the world that you’re joining us in contributing to our democracy!

Looking to see what the rest of the Alliance Network is up to on Election Day? Follow along on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to see how we’re celebrating democracy today! 

Gen-Z and Millennial voters will be a decisive electoral force this midterm election because of the power local youth organizing. And it is Alliance Network organizations serving as political homes that educate voters year-round, and turn them out to vote every 👏🏽 single 👏🏽 election 👏🏽. 

To fueling the youth vote. Let’s get it!