What is the sleeping giant?
- It is the enormous power of young voters to fight the Alito opinion and other grave threats to democracy.
- It is the collective strength of tens of millions of young people (four million alone graduating high school every year), who care deeply about protecting women’s right to control their body and stopping the march to erode gender, racial, LGBTQ and other fundamental rights.
- It is you — The Daily Kos Community, whether young or not, working to register and turn out the millions of new voters who will alter the electoral landscape
How can we do this?
One great way is by volunteering or contributing to groups like The Civics Center. Right now, I and many others are contacting schools, parents and students as part of the Civics Center Ready to Vote Challenge, dedicated to registering tens or hundreds of thousands of new voters before this year’s high school graduation.
But how specifically?
In the next 3-6 weeks of high school graduations you can:
The Ready to Vote Challenge has been endorsed by more than forty rights groups, including the League of Women Voters, the YMCA, March for Our Lives, and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund of the NAACP.
Below are excerpts from a statement by Laura Brill, Founder of the Civics Center. Read the whole thing at the link on the title:
Statement to high school and college students on the Supreme Court’s draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade
Dear Student Voters and Future Voters,
We’ve heard from thousands of you since news broke of the draft Supreme Court opinion that, if issued, will overturn Roe v. Wade and end federal constitutional protection for abortion rights.
Overwhelmingly, we’ve heard that you care deeply about access to abortion and that you are angry.
Words we keep hearing are “ridiculous,” “disgusting,” “scary,” and “backsliding”.
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So, if you are feeling these things, you are not alone.
Here is what we want you to know:
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Your physical and emotional health matter. If you need medical care or advice, please speak to someone you trust.
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Democracy is a conversation. Whatever the Court’s final majority decision may say, it will not end debate or possibilities for different political actors to protect abortion rights.
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On the federal level, Congress can legislate and the President can by executive action protect abortion access in a variety of ways and circumstances.
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States can enact laws to protect abortion access and recognize a right to abortion in their state constitutions.
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Elected officials need to hear from you. Use this tool to find your state and federal representatives.
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If you have never phoned a public official, now is your chance. You can let them know your name, where you live, that they represent you, and your views about the importance of protecting abortion rights.
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But the truth is that you and your generation have enormous power. Four million of you turn 18 every year. Many elections are decided by small numbers of votes. When you commit to giving everyone in your community a voice, you’ll be surprised how effective you can be.
Here’s where voting and voter registration come in. Most of you are not registered to vote. The numbers are shocking: Among 18-year-olds living in Milwaukee and Madison, Cleveland and Columbus, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and Phoenix and Tucson, fewer than 20% are registered to vote. California and many other states allow young people to preregister at the age of 16, meaning they are automatically registered when they turn 18. But even in California, fewer than 15% of 16- and 17-year-olds have taken advantage of the law. In many other states, the preregistration numbers are far lower.
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I don’t want to underestimate the amount of effort this will take. The gaps we need to fill are enormous. But if you have read this far, I hope you’ll make a personal commitment to help fill them. Your friends will care much more if you encourage them to register and vote than if I do it. Your relationships are far more important in influencing elections than a text bank or an email campaign. It is fundamentally your political power.
Your voice matters. Your vote matters. Regardless of what a draft or final decision of the Supreme Court may say, you, your friends, your family, your community, and your values all matter. If you are ready to get started, we have a challenge ready to go.
