WASHINGTON — Democratic and left-leaning youth organizations have seized a new opportunity to mobilize younger voters now that their party has nominated Vice President Kamala Harris as its presidential candidate.
Young adult voters – including millions of Generation Z members – could be crucial to the outcome of the race in which the 59-year-old Democrat is battling for the Oval Office against former President Donald Trump (78), the Republican presidential candidate. The eligible members of Generation Z are 18 to 27 years old this year.
These groups say young voters are excited to potentially elect someone who better represents their demographic, since Harris would be the first woman president, the second Black president and the first president of South Asian descent. About 45% of eligible Gen Z voters are young people of color, according to Tufts University’s Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.
Democrats nominated Harris after 81-year-old President Joe Biden dropped his candidacy for re-election following a disastrous performance in a June 27 debate and intense pressure to quit the presidency.
Organizing groups also highlight Harris’ connection to young people on issues that have historically been important to that population, such as protecting reproductive rights and climate action.
Swing States – contested states
With less than three months to go before Election Day, these groups are already in full swing, focusing on swing states where presidential elections have historically been particularly close, and using their state and local chapters to reach out to young voters.
Kati Durkin, Young Democrats of America’s Western vice president, said they have a “pretty targeted campaign plan” that focuses on traditional swing states — such as Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — to reach YDA members in those states and help them connect with their peers.
“We’re really asking ourselves: How do we mobilize young voters using our network of chartered units across the country? So how do we get there and say to people on a college campus in Nevada, ‘Hey, this is how you can register to vote, this is why voting is so important and this is why we’re so excited about Vice President Harris?'”
YDA is directly affiliated with the Democratic Party, the largest youth-led, partisan political organization in the country, and has over 20,000 members in all 50 states.
Durkin said the group is making sure that “while our people on the ground are doing the work, we’re taking people from the Washingtons and New Yorks of the country and getting them to help out in a state like Nevada, but also that while the DNC is specifically targeting youth, we’re bringing our members there and helping with that infrastructure.”
Similarly, the College Democrats of America – the official college arm of the Democratic National Committee – communicates with its local branches, which are working on the ground in their respective areas to get voters to the polls.
“We’ve seen a lot of local organizations really work hard, especially in districts that are historically leaning Republican, to get youth out to vote and make sure that people on their campuses or in their states are actively registered to vote and excited about voting,” Gia Iyer, CDA’s deputy communications director, told States Newsroom.
CDA also works with other youth organizations to spread their messages beyond the people they follow on their respective social media accounts.
“It’s all about doing public relations work and making sure that we can get as many young people as possible excited about this election,” said Iyer.
Youth and interest groups stand united behind Harris
Shortly after Harris announced her intention to win the Democratic nomination, a coalition of youth organizations, including YDA and CDA, endorsed Harris.
“As a champion of reproductive freedom, climate protection, economic justice and gun violence prevention, Vice President Harris is uniquely positioned to build a coalition of young voters that will lead her to victory,” 17 youth and advocacy groups said in a statement in late July.
The organizations stressed that if Harris were elected, it would be a historic presidency as she would be the “first woman, the first Asian American and the second black president.”
“As members of the most diverse generation in our country’s history, we would recognize ourselves in a Kamala Harris presidency,” the coalition said.
Registration for volunteers
Voters of Tomorrow, one of 17 organizing groups supporting Harris, saw more people sign up to join its network and more volunteers in the three days following Harris’ announcement than in the previous two months.
The left-leaning organization aims to increase voter turnout among young voters and has a network of local chapters in over 20 states.
The group’s key efforts include running a youth organizing boot camp and weekly text and phone banks, according to deputy press secretary Jessica Siles.
Siles said the group’s network will “also organize events on various college campuses, whether it’s voter registration or town hall meetings with local candidates. We just want to try to meet young people where they are, whether it’s on campus or online, and provide them with the resources they need to secure our future.”
Recent polls show Harris leading Trump, especially among young voters. In a Morning Consult poll conducted Aug. 9-11, 48 percent of voters ages 18-34 said they would vote for Harris, compared to 41 percent who would vote for Trump.
YDA’s Durkin said, “Not only is Harris the right candidate for the job, she has generated so much excitement. I haven’t seen that in years. Just this morning my girlfriend texted me, ‘Is this what hope feels like?'”
Harris is “someone who has a history of standing up for his values, which are our values, and standing up for young people, and I think that’s a big part of what’s driving this excitement,” Durkin added.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, whom Harris nominated as her running mate, has also generated enthusiasm among young voters.
Iyer of the CDA said Harris “really appeals to a younger, more progressive audience, which is great,” adding, “Walz himself is an incredible governor who has done great things for the people of his state, and it’s just a really great combination to see someone who is actually committed to issues that are important to young Democrats, like the members of the CDA.”
Undecided voters
Although Harris is gaining popularity among young voters, pro-Palestinian organizers are pressuring both the Biden administration and Harris, who is running in the presidential race, to impose an arms embargo on Israel. It is not yet clear what impact opposition to the war between Israel and Hamas will have on young Democrats’ turnout.
The nationwide “Not Another Bomb” campaign is the latest initiative by the Uncommitted National Movement, which has seen a broad range of organizers, including young and progressive voters, protest Biden’s policies regarding the war between Israel and Hamas.
Organizers are calling on Harris to “backtrack on President Biden’s disastrous Gaza policy” and declaring that “calling for a ceasefire and an arms embargo is a moral and human imperative.”
In addition, activists are holding a “Not Another Bomb” day of action with rallies across the country on the weekend before the Democratic National Convention.
