Racial justice is the top factor motivating America’s youth of colour to vote in the upcoming November elections, according to a recent national poll. The research, carried out by the Advancement Project National Office, reveals that structural inequality, police brutality and coronavirus pandemic are at top of minds for young voters of minority communities heading to the polls.
Young voters of colour say they will vote in November because they want to see change around systemic inequality and racism. The telling statistics also provide employers, as well as politicians, ample evidence that the younger generations – particularly those of colour – are no longer prepared to put up with racial injustice and inequality, be it in the community or workplace.
The data was collected as part of the Advancement Project National Office’s Young Voters of Colour Get Out the Vote campaign. Launched today, the campaign aims to motivate and mobilise young people of colour to vote because Black, Brown, Native American and Asian American voters will make up a one-third of all eligible voters in 2020. Their voice will carry huge sway in this year’s elections if they all vote.
ENDING SYSTEMATIC RACISM
The national survey of 1,915 eligible Black, Latin, Native and Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) voters, aged 18-24 years old, found that they were best motivated to vote with bold messages centering around the issues they care most about. The most important issues for them are racism and systemic inequality.
“Young voters like me are anxious to get to the November election and are scrambling to understand the voting environment,” stated Kelsey Perine, a student at Southern University and A & M College, and member of Advancement Project’s Young Voters of Colour Advisory Committee. “For young people, it can be hard to register in states like Louisiana. It can be challenging to sift through information to learn what is true and untrue. We need to hear about the issues we care about and what to do if we get turned away from the polls.”
KEY POLL FINDINGS
Key findings of the poll revealed that:
- The top issues motivating young voters to post this November are racial justice, the coronavirus pandemic and police brutality.
- Concerns about coronavirus exposure, confusion about new voting methods, worries about the post office, and lack of awareness of vote-by-mail indicate more education is needed on how to vote.
- While young people of colour are broadly skeptical of the US political system, they remain engaged in their communities. Around 27% reported they had protested this year and 25% reported volunteering their time with a nonprofit or charity.
- Qualitative data shows many youth of colour feel “left out” of the political process and conversation.
- Messaging describing voting as a “duty of all citizens in a democracy” resonated the least with young voters of colour.
JUSTICE MOVEMENT
“Young people of colour have led the racial justice movement this summer with significant wins around policing. They are leading racial justice campaigns in the streets and intend to vote on the issues that mean the most to their communities this fall,” stated Judith Browne Dianis, Executive Director of Advancement Project National Office.
Survey results indicate that 78% of young voters of colour have taken one or more political action this year, including signing a petition, posting or sharing content online and protesting. One in four said they had participated in a protest.
“National, state and local groups reaching out to young people of colour during the election season should talk explicitly about racism, injustice and inequality,” according to Jorge L Vasquez Jr, Power and Democracy Program Director at Advancement Project National Office. “We must continue educating young voters about how to safely and securely cast a ballot in 2020. Clear communications about available voting options will help address their understandable anxiety about unfamiliar voting methods and Covid-19 exposure at the polls.”
The Advancement Project National Office is a next-generation, multi-racial civil rights organisation aiming to fulfil America’s promise of a caring, inclusive and just democracy.
Click here for more information on the campaign and project.
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