The youth vote is organizing for Gun Control Immigrant Rights and Racial Equality
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas Their goal is to register 300000 young voters prior to the 2020 election. However for young people to achieve the change they seek they must also consolidate their power at the voting booth.
In Texas we dream big because we are big. And we are determined to chart a new future for our country and state" said Cristina Tzintzun Ramirez a nationally recognized civil rights leader and the Founder-Executive Director of the Jolt Initiative a non-profit organization that increases the civic participation of Latinos in Texas to build a stronger democracy and ensure that everyones voice is heard.
Our youth hold the power in their hands to not only change the politics of Texas but the country. Now were gearing up for whats next and are ready to turn up the heat on legislators that dont represent our diverse communities needs by 2020" says Tzintzun Ramirez.
The nation and Texas are experiencing a new wave of civic engagement from young people. And the youth vote is organizing for gun control immigrant rights and racial equality.
By 2022 one in three voters will be under the age of 30 creating what many demographers say will one day become the most powerful and diverse electorate in the state.
And today Texans ages 18 to 30 are a diverse population:
- 43 are Latino
- 13 are African American and
- 4 are Asian or Pacific Islander
In the next 10 years nearly two million Texas Latinos will turn 18 and estimates project that up to 95 will be U.S. citizens accounting for 78 of all new Latino voters in the state.
Young voters in Texas proved during the recent mid-terms that they will no longer sit on the sidelines and their impact was felt up and down the ballot" said Rae Martinez Outreach & Field Manager for Texas Rising the Texas Freedom Networks program for young Texans.
On its website Texas Rising says it is a movement of young diverse politically engaged Texans working to leverage our power through community organizing electoral politics and public policy advocacy.
Texas Rising has worked to make this a reality registering and turning out 10s of 1000s of voters under 30. We intend to make sure every young Texan possible registers to vote and makes it to the polls Martinez says.
Going forward politicians who ignore this rising progressive and very diverse generation of Texans do so at their own peril said Martinez.
And The Texas Youth Power Alliance (TYPA) founded in 2018 by Jolt Initiative Texas Rising the MOVE San Antonio Foundation and Youth Rise Texas seeks to support 100s of 1000s of young people to consolidate their power electorally through a robust voter registration campaign that will bring 300000 young people into the democratic process.
Their goal is to turn them out to vote in 2020.
In 2018 TYPA registered nearly one in five new Texas voters bringing 66000 Texans into the democratic process.
We know that to drive our vision for Texas future we have to build electoral power. We know that to win on our issues we have to build the capacity of our movement to elect officials who will co-conspire with us to make our vision a reality" said Kandace Vallejo Founding Executive Director for Youth Rise Texas.
We are mobilizing the thousands of youth who will use their voices and votes to get those leaders in office and keep them there Vallejo said.
The 2018 election was a historic moment for young voters across Texas. Just in early voting young people increased our turnout by nearly 500 compared to 2014" said MOVE Texas Executive Director H. Drew Galloway.
Together with the Texas Youth Power Alliance our organizers volunteers and student members are as dedicated as ever to expanding voting rights and access to the ballot for our generation."
When its all said and done the Texas Youth Power Alliance and its collaborative partners say they intend to transform the state by harnessing the full power of young people of color in Texas.
