NextGen America Hits Milestone of Registering 200,000 Young Voters Ahead of Midterm Elections

Youth voter registration surges as young people are poised to play a key role in November

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Today, NextGen America announced that it has registered 208,828 young voters this year through its youth organizing program, NextGen Rising. Since launching the program, NextGen America has invested $33 million in registering and engaging young people in 11 key states, deploying nearly 700 organizers to mobilize voters in competitive federal and state races. By hosting canvasses and creative events, organizing on over 420 college campuses, and celebrating civic holidays like National Voter Registration Day, NextGen is working to promote a surge in youth political participation on Election Day.

“Conversation by conversation, we’re working to overturn the traditional assertion that young people don’t engage in politics and don’t vote,” said NextGen America Executive Director Heather Hargreaves. “If you look at the nationwide surge in youth voter registration, and at the youth and diversity of some of the candidates this cycle, it is clear young people are engaging in electoral politics at an unprecedented and historic rate. This November, a new political paradigm will emerge: one in which young people are rightfully understood to be the most powerful voting bloc in the country.”

During NextGen’s back-to-school “Welcome Week” voter registration drive in August and September, organizers registered over 100,000 young voters. During Welcome Week, NextGen organizers hosted a variety of creative, student-friendly events — including “Pups to the Polls” at the University of Wisconsin, a “Hawkeye Tailgate” at Iowa State University, and a “Lip Sync Battle” at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas — to encourage young people to get registered at their campus address. On National Voter Registration Day, NextGen organizers hosted events and registered 7,347 more young voters in a single day.

A series of progressive primary victories have already demonstrated the significant impact of NextGen’s work engaging and registering young voters. Ahead of the California primary in early June, NextGen organizers and volunteers ran an intensive get-out-the-vote program. In the competitive 39th District, more young people turned out to vote in the 2018 primary than in the 2014 general election, and in one precinct near Cal State Fullerton, overall turnout increased 10x over 2014 primary levels. On average, turnout increased by an average of 8 to 10 percentage points in youth-dense precincts in districts targeted by NextGen’s GOTV efforts — helping prevent a widely-feared Democratic shutout in key Congressional races.

In the months leading up to the Florida gubernatorial primary, NextGen ran a digital and field-focused program in support of Andrew Gillum. With digital ads that targeted 500,000 young voters, along with 300,000 texts, and 75,000 phone calls, NextGen organizers and volunteers educated young voters on Gillum’s progressive platform and background, and ultimately pushed him to victory. Organizers also worked on 43 campuses across the state to register 19,000 voters before the primary registration deadline, helping voter turnout hit record levels in precincts on and surrounding college campuses. In precincts near Florida State and Florida A&M in Tallahassee, five times more votes were cast than in 2014, with 75% of the vote share going to Andrew Gillum.

At $33 million, NextGen America is running the largest youth organizing effort in American history. NextGen has been on the ground since 2017 — registering, engaging and mobilizing young people across 11 states to make their voices heard this November. As the largest eligible voting bloc, young people are the key to flipping Congress and statehouses on Election Day.