Young people are leading efforts to increase voter turnout among their peers

On a fall Wednesday evening, young people eagerly lined up at MGM Music Hall at Fenway for Gracie Abrams’ new “Secret of Us Tour.” As excited fans debated which song Abrams would start the concert with, three volunteers wearing Headcount T-shirts with a QR code approached the line.

Headcount is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to equipping voters with the tools and knowledge they need to cast their ballots. They do this by collaborating with artists such as Abrams, Sabrina Carpenter and Remi Wolf. During the shows, volunteers hand out gifts and pins to encourage people to check their registration again.

“People may not think about politics when they go to see their favorite artists perform, but seeing us at the table is a unique way to engage these people in politics,” said Emily Bresnahan, Headcount’s New England regional coordinator.

Jaya Gupta, 18, was waiting in line outside the MGM Music Hall for a Gracie Abrams concert when she heard about Headcount. Although the Massachusetts resident has help from her father to help her navigate voting for the first time, she says having an organization like Headcount is beneficial to other young voters.

“I think organizations like Headcount make it easier for people to start the voting process by giving them easy access to voter information,” Gupta said.

Concerts are not the only places where young people encourage each other to vote; college campuses are also popular places.

With more than 30 institutions of higher learning within the city limits, many Boston colleges and universities have already launched nonpartisan, campus-wide initiatives to ensure their students are prepared to engage in civic responsibility.

Located in downtown Boston at Suffolk University is Suffolk Votes, an organization working with staff, faculty and students to make the voting process easier by providing voter registration forms, reminding students to register to vote and notifying them of upcoming deadlines.

Rachael Cobb, professor of political science and legal studies at the University of Suffolk, said students really want to participate in the democratic process but need guidance.

“For many of them, this is the first time they’ve ever voted, and we’re all anxious about the first time we get to do something,” Cobb said. “That’s why we as a community and as a society must do everything we can to support them.”

A few miles away, Northeastern University and its Northeastern Votes coalition have also been working hard to promote voter registration, education and turnout.

Hilary Sullivan, director of community service and civic engagement at Northeastern University, said that before the coalition was formed, it was the university’s student government that mobilized around the election to increase turnout. But Sullivan says the goal was to institutionalize these practices to ensure that students who become eligible to vote have the necessary resources.

“We certainly did a lot this year because this is an important presidential election,” Sullivan said. “But we’re really trying to make sure students vote in city and state elections as well.”

The involvement of young voters has increased in recent years.

Tufts University has been studying these trends since 2012. According to them
National Study of Learning, Voting and EngagementStudent turnout increased during the previous presidential election, reaching an unprecedented 66%, surpassing 52% in 2016.

Jen McAndrew, senior director of communications and planning at the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University, said the university chose to focus on higher education institutions because they play a key role in increasing youth civic engagement.

“One of the central tenets of American higher education is the civic purpose of preparing Americans for robust civic life,” McAndrew said. “So in this study, we will look at institutions that have historically been places for civic learning and development to understand trends among young voters.”

Across the Charles River in Cambridge, Julia High and Jordan Schwartz are co-hosting the Harvard Votes Challenge.

“Our biggest goal is to increase visibility and accessibility,” Schwartz said. “Visibility in the sense that we want everyone to know that we exist and that we have resources for them, and accessibility in that we actually have those resources ready for them so that the voting process – which is not always easy for the student – ​​can be as simple as as possible.”

While these initiatives may have a positive impact on campus voter registration, school officials say peer-to-peer initiatives have proven to be the most effective.

“At Suffolk, we engage students socially around voting and encourage them to vote because their friends are voting,” Cobb said. “In this way, it becomes part of the culture of our university that we are a university that votes.”

Similarly, at Northeastern University and Harvard University, most programs rely on student-led events designed to engage other students.

Matias Gonzalez, a student leader at Northeastern University, emphasized the importance of student-led conversations.

“Getting help from professors can seem a little daunting, but when you talk to a colleague, it can just be a casual conversation like, I know this is hard, but let’s talk about some resources,” he said.

All of these efforts can boost registration rates, but they don’t always translate into returned ballots, especially among first-time voters.

Despite historic turnout in the 2020 presidential election, overall voting rates in the 2022 midterm race dropped to
31%, lower than in 2018.

Students say voting by mail can be especially difficult.

“Each state has different rules, which creates confusion. They have different rules for early voting and mail-in voting. So it’s not the same process for every student,” Rachael Cobb said.

Julia High, a senior at Harvard College, said that despite being co-chair of Harvard Votes, she had difficulty obtaining a Florida ballot in the upcoming election.

“I requested a ballot online, but my mailing address didn’t show up,” High said. “I had to call my local elections office and they didn’t know the answer.”

High had to call a second time to find out what the problem was with her ballot. She said the process would prevent some of her peers from voting.

Schwartz experienced a different challenge in his home state of Ohio. He requested a ballot last year but never received it, even though he applied weeks in advance.

“This fall, we tried to encourage as many people as possible to request absentee ballots as early as possible so that it could be checked, traced, and if there was a problem in mid-October, you could resolve it by calling your election office,” he said.

Savanna Ruzzano, a freshman and Northeastern Votes ambassador at Northeastern University, noted that having ambassadors on campus helped her peers navigate the often complicated process.

“We can help you get stamps, envelopes, mail everything, print forms,” Ruzzano said. “We just want to make it easier so students don’t get frustrated and give up.”

Despite the challenges, most college student leaders remain optimistic and hopeful that their efforts will increase voting access for their peers.

“Voting matters,” said Matias Gonzalez, who votes by mail in Arizona.

“This election is not just about the big ticket. It’s not just about the president,” he said. “Look at your ballot, do your research; there may be other important issues at play.

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