Schools and governments are trying to capitalize on a wave of youth activism to educate teens about voting and democracy.
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The conventional wisdom says that young people don't vote, aren't interested in civic activism and want to stay as far as possible from government. These young people are proving the conventional wisdom wrong.
Most poll workers are over 60; COVID has kept many of them home. So thousands of teens have stepped up.
Thanks to a citywide volunteer effort to get 18-year-olds to the polls, they came out in record numbers last year. Now they’re taking the work statewide to keep the momentum going.
Since 2010, Chicago aldermen have been using participatory budgeting to give ward residents a say in how some of the money in their ward will be used. Now Chicago Public School students can participate in budget decisions about how school money is used.
Kids all over the United States are becoming poll workers — even if they're too young to vote.
Along with the day-to-day pressures young people face, negativity on social media can understandably turn many away from engaging with pervasive and complex social issues. Yet many throughout Greater Cleveland, activists, candidates and podcasters alike, have redirected that broad hopelessness into hyperlocal action.
