Seventeen-year-old Sanabil Wajid won’t be old enough to vote in November, but she’s committed to ensuring her peers can.
The Eastside High School senior coordinates her school’s voter registration drive with support from the Youth Action Fund. The organization connects students with resources to run progressive community campaigns.
This year, the organization launched voter registration drives at three ACPS high schools, including Gainesville, Eastside and Buchholz. P.K. Yonge, a developmental school at UF, also participated.
Youth Action Fund began recruiting and training students across Alachua County on Aug. 7. Volunteers learned voter registration procedures and equipped them with pens and voting forms. Youth Action Fund also provided $150 stipends to campus coordinators and community service hours to student volunteers.
The five-day registration drive began Aug. 19, a day before Alachua County’s primary elections. Volunteers registered students during lunch and between classes. When possible, they helped students complete forms on the spot.
Wajid believes that students at Title I schools — those with high populations of economically disadvantaged students — like EHS are less likely to register without extra encouragement, she said.
“A lot of these students don’t have the opportunity otherwise to have their voices heard,” Wajid said.
Cameron Driggers, the 19-year-old executive director of Youth Action Fund, sees high schools as incubators for thoughtful young adults who he said are ready for nuanced political conversations.
Volunteers registered 248 students during the Aug. 19 drive to vote at four schools, exceeding expectations. Driggers hopes the newly minted voters “push the needle” in a progressive direction on ballot initiatives in Florida and elections nationally.
EHS senior Mandela Marsh, 17, said she helped register 43 students. She admits the promise of free candy may have expedited the effort.
Youth Action Fund sends participating schools candy, which volunteers package into goodie bags to incentivize students to complete registration forms.
Some registrants did not take the process seriously, making mistakes on forms in a rush to collect their Skittles and Starbursts. Volunteers had to chase them down for corrections.
Macy Morris, a 17-year-old EHS senior, also volunteered with EHS’ voter registration drive. She said it’s essential for her peers to find value in the democratic process, with or without the promise of sugary treats.
“We want people to vote, not just to do it for the candy,” Morris said.
She understands that students juggling homework, extracurriculars and family responsibilities may need a gentle push to complete voter registration before the deadline — this year, Oct. 7.
Youth Action Fund’s program is also increasing access to the ballot box for students who don’t drive, which applies to many kids at EHS. Morris said her peers without driver's licenses may not have known how to pre-register, but student volunteers made it easy by directly approaching them at lunch with voting forms.
According to the Florida Department of State, eligible individuals 16 or older may complete voting registration at the DMV upon receiving their driver’s license, among other methods like registering online or by mail. Registration becomes active when the prospective voter turns 18.
In an election cycle dominated by memes and tweets, Youth Action Fund embraces the growing preference among young people to consume news via social media. However, instead of reaching kids through their screens, the group leverages real-life social networking through word-of-mouth and positive peer pressure.
Like many of their peers, EHS seniors Morris and Wajid consume much of their political news through social media.
“Life is so fast-paced that we don't necessarily have time to sit down and go through TV channels,” Morris said. “It's way easier to tap a few buttons on your phone than go through a newspaper.”
Wajid added that young people often consult platforms like TikTok and Instagram to find information about candidates. She clarified that online posts are merely a jumping-off point to spark her initial interest, after which she conducts independent research.
However, members of the Youth Action Fund strive to reach disengaged teens who fall through the cracks — those who are inactive on social media and disinterested in civic engagement.
EHS Principal Leroy Williams said he admires what Driggers and the Youth Action Fund have done to invite young people to politics.
“It’s always good to have students engaged in the democratic process and helping their fellow students get involved,” he said in a press release.
Williams said he believes high schoolers have the unique capacity to marshal their friends to the polls.
“When young people are encouraged by their peers to register and vote,” he said, “I think the message is more likely to have an impact.”
Contact Natalie Kaufman at nkaufman@alligator.org. Follow her on X @Nat_Kauf.
Natalie Kaufman is a sophomore journalism student and the Alligator's Fall 2024 Metro General Assignment reporter. In her free time, she likes drinking copious amounts of caffeine and running.
