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Friday, March 29, 2024

Their vote, their voice: Increasing Black millennial turnout

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O

n National Student Walkout Day, Black students joined thousands of their peers across the country to march for more gun control and safer schools. 

Will students turn that activism into votes this election year? 

“They know that their voice is their vote,” said Byron Ratcliffe, college and youth advisor for the Greater Indianapolis Branch of the NAACP. 

Ratcliffe believes high school and college students united on political issues after last month’s deadly shooting at a Florida high school, as well as another this week in Maryland. 

“Those events have activated them in the political realm,” he said. 

In recent years Black voter turnout has declined overall, including among millennials, those between the ages of 18 and 35.

After reaching a record high of 66 percent in 2012, Black voter turnout fell to 59 percent during the 2016 election, according to the Pew Research Center. Among Black millennials, it dropped from 55 percent to 49 percent. 

However, students say that despite those declining numbers, most of their peers are actually interested in the political process. 

“With the results of the most recent election I think they are more encouraged to vote this time,” said Khayleia Foy, president of the Black Student Union at Butler University. 

 

Beyond the numbers

Foy believes the decline in turnout among young voters has more to do with lack of information than lack of interest. 

“Some students may be uninformed on the importance of politics and the state of our country,” she said. 

To solve that problem, Butler’s Black Student Union sponsored events to educate students on the importance of voting and how it impacts issues they care about. 

Teen Works, which places local youth in jobs, implemented a non-partisan voter registration program that prepares teens for voting. Civic engagement is part of the organization’s goals in addition to college preparation and career placement. 

“Helping kids get registered to vote is a big part of what we do,” said Tamara Barney, president of Teen Works. “It’s about providing our teens good information to make decisions about the communities they live in.”

Barney noted that many millennials are interested in the political process, they just need more avenues to get involved such as registration events and government internships. Some of them may also come from homes where parents are apathetic about the process, she noted.

“When we host our hiring fair this year we want both the teens and the parents to have an opportunity to get registered,” Barney said. 

 

More options

Transportation to polling places is a challenge for many younger voters, and voting may seem difficult to college students from other states who are not registered in Indiana. 

“We have to make students aware that absentee ballots are an option,” Foy said. “Voting should also be made available on campus so that if a student doesn’t have transportation off campus they can just do it here.” 

Ratcliffe agrees, and believes that early voting sites should be expanded for all voters. Currently, Indianapolis has only one early voting site, although Marion County includes the state’s largest population.

The NAACP and other organizations are currently working through the courts to expand early voting opportunities, noting that other counties in Central Indiana with smaller populations have more early voting options.  

“That’s unfair,” Ratcliffe said. “Our only option is downtown, and that could stop youth from voting because a lot of them don’t drive. We’ve got to make it easier for them to vote.”

Still, Ratcliffe is optimistic that more African-American millennials will vote in this year’s election, when voters will determine the direction of Congress and who will serve in many important local offices. 

“We will get those numbers up,” he said. “Those who are eligible, especially those in our youth and college groups, will be going to the polls and working to get people registered.” 

How to register to vote

  • You are eligible if you are a U.S. citizen, an Indiana resident, at least 18 and have lived in your precinct at least 30 days.
  • You can register online by visiting indianavoters.in.gov, in person at your county clerk’s office or by mail. Mail a completed registration form to your county voter registration or the Indiana Election Division, 302 W. Washington St. E204, Indianapolis, IN 46204. 
  • You can register at Indiana BMV branches, and forms are available at library branches. 

Their Vote, Their Voice

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