REPORT: URGE Organizers Contribute to “Youth Wave” in 2018 Midterms
Download this new report from URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity: “The Young People’s Election: Casting Votes. Building Power.
As the dust settles on the 2018 midterm elections, there’s no question that young people had an impact.
One-third (31%) of young people (18-29) turned out to vote in the 2018 midterm election, up from 21% in 2014, representing the highest level of participation among youth in the past quarter-century.
In a year of narrow margins, young people (18-29) tipped the scales and used their voices and votes to build power and address the issues that matter most to them.
The 2018 midterm election victory belongs to the organizers- to the young people and people of color who, through grit, gumption, and guts, registered and turned out young and new voters in record numbers across the nation. URGE organizers, canvassers, and activists knocked on doors, made phone calls, and sent texts until our fingers were numb. And as a result, and despite rampant voter suppression, the votes of young people undoubtedly determined the outcome of races across the country. Young people organized, ran campaigns, and ran for office, and the newest class of elected officials broke barriers around race, gender, and age.
Our hearts go out to the West Virginians and Alabamians who today woke up with fewer rights than they had yesterday. But context is critical: abortion opponents thought it would be easy to pick on these states, and they got the fight of their lives. In Alabama alone, URGE talked to 54,795 voters about the harms of Amendment 2. We’re proud of the ground we gained to end abortion stigma in Alabama, and are committed to defending safe abortion care across the South. We are not giving up on any of our communities and are here to work with youth and our allies to build power across the country.
Young voters are engaged, progressive, and here to stay. So is URGE.
November 7, 2018
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