For Immediate Release:
April 10, 2023
Press Contact:
Carmel Pryor
press@allianceforyouthaction.org
WASHINGTON – Today, Alliance for Youth Action released its 2022 Annual Report. The release comes after research from the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) demonstrates the impact of Alliance Network organizations in driving out the youth vote in 2022. Alliance for Youth Action remains energized by the incredible efforts of youth organizers to engage young people and provide for their communities in distinct and meaningful ways. In 2022, voters under the age of 35 showed the nation exactly what young people are made of; when young people have support and resources, our democracy wins.
Here are some of the highlights from the 2022 Annual Report:
The Alliance Network’s 2022 by the Numbers
- There were 256 electoral races, from city council to governorship, where 20 Alliance Network organizations were active.
- The network registered 71,896 voters, knocked on 500,334 doors, and distributed 1,252,561 voter guides.
- Out of 116 candidates our network endorsed, 81 candidates won their election.
- 2022 brought ballot measures galore, and our network won 28 of the 36 ballot measures we engaged with.
Alliance for Youth Action National Programs
- To activate new voters, Alliance for Youth Action launched “Democracy Debut,” welcoming first-time voters into our democracy. This digital-focused campaign saw 638,443 impressions on digital ads.
- We conducted national polling on Gen-Z and Millennial voters to help shape the youth vote narrative. Alliance for Youth Action and Civiqs conducted polls in January and in August.
Issue Organizing
Young people fought for historic victories to ensure democracy is done right. Here are some examples of our network at work for our Democracy Done Right campaign:
- Thanks to Chicago Votes youth organizers, Cook County Jail became the first jail in the country to be an in-person voting precinct. In 2022, it had a record turnout of 24.9% in their primary, which was the most active in the city.
- Mississippi Votes fought against over 70 voter suppression bills in the 2022 legislative session. They organized a call to action opposing SB 2588, a bill that would have permitted voter purges but died in committee.
Our Dreams Not Debt campaign garnered over 2,000 people to sign our petition to President Biden to cancel student loans. Elevating our local organizing efforts to mitigate the student debt crisis, here are wins from our network:
- New Era Colorado passed legislation prohibiting colleges from withholding transcripts due to outstanding fees.
- The Ohio Student Association worked to end Transcript Traps and launched a Black Student Equity survey to better understand the financial needs of Black students in Ohio.
- Virginia Student Power Network fought for and won a tuition freeze at the University of Virginia and supported legislation to increase access and reduce barriers to higher education for students.
Our 2022 Annual Report is available here.
Here are some highlights from CIRCLE’s 2022 Youth Voting State Level Research:
Michigan
Michigan was home to the highest youth voter turnout in 2022 with a 36.5% turnout rate according to CIRCLE’s research. Our network organization, Detroit Action, remained heavily involved throughout 2022 by mobilizing young people into victory on two ballot measure wins. Likewise, nine of 11 Detroit Action’s endorsed candidates won their races.
Minnesota
Following the highest turnout of any state in 2018 (44%), Minnesota continues to engage voters, and this time young people, with a 35.5% youth voter turnout in 2022, according to CIRCLE’s research. Celebrating its fifth anniversary, Alliance for Youth Action network organization Minnesota Youth Collective (MNYC) played a big part in these efforts. Distributing over 110,000 vote guides, knocking on doors for eight months before election day, and taking the University of Minnesota Twin Cities students to the polls.
Oregon
According to CIRCLE, Oregon had a 35.5% youth voter turnout in 2022. Alliance for Youth Action network organization, Next Up, helped make Oregon the most accessible state to vote. With over 93% of Oregon’s population registered to vote, Next Up sent over 138,856 texts, made around 70,700 calls, and knocked on 10,000 doors.
Colorado
Colorado’s youth voter turnout for 2022 was 33%, remaining as a top-5 youth voter turnout state after a 44% turnout in 2018. New Era Colorado’s 16-year history has successfully engaged young voters. In 2022, New Era made 129,066 phone calls, sent 15,252 text messages, and delivered 2,005 young voters to Voter Service Centers. Lastly, 60% of New Era members turned out to vote in 2022, which is double the rate of overall youth turnout.
Arizona
In 2022, 25% of people aged 18-29 voted in Arizona. It surpassed CIRCLE’s youth voter turnout estimate of 23%. Young voters played a deciding role in Democratic victories in Arizona’s U.S. Senate Race and Governor’s race. Poder in Action knocked on 35,562 doors, distributed over 50,000 voter guides, and had over 1.2 million digital impressions. Poder was also successful in undoing a long history of anti-immigrant attacks by passing Proposition 308 to allow undocumented students to pay in-state tuition and get state scholarships.
Texas
According to CIRCLE, 22% of young people in Texas turned out to vote. MOVE Texas was responsible for registering over 10,000 young voters. MOVE knocked on 1,978 doors, sent 338,017 text messages, made 235,184 phone calls, and sent 7,000 climate mailers about the 2022 election. Of the voters MOVE Texas turned out to vote, 1/3 were first-time voters, and over 60% were under 30.
CIRCLE’s research is available here.
If you are interested in speaking with leaders in the Alliance for Youth Action Network, please reach out to Carmel Pryor, Vice President of Communications and Engagement: press@allianceforyouthaction.org.
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