This National Network is Backing Youth Organizing in Key Battleground States

One of the many ways that Kamala Harris has upended the presidential race is that young voters are now far more excited to support the Democratic ticket than they were before Joe Biden exited the race. Still, Democrats face major challenges with young people and young men in particular. For example, while a recent New York Times/Siena poll of Sun Belt battleground states found Harris leading Trump among registered voters 18-29, her lead is far smaller than Biden’s 2020 margin of victory with this group, and the poll also found that young people were much more likely to trust Trump on the economy — a key issue for these voters — than Harris. Other polls have found a massive gender gap among young voters, with women more likely to support the Democratic ticket than men by over 20 points. Meanwhile, young people are expected to vote at much lower rates this fall than older people, even though youth turnout rates have hit a record high in recent elections.  

All of this underscores the importance of the Alliance for Youth Action, the leading progressive hub for youth organizing work across the country. “We are really going to leverage our issues to turn people out,” said AYA’s development director Keisha Bernard. 

How the Alliance for Youth Action Backs Organizing in Key States

The Alliance for Youth Action is made up of nineteen youth-led organizations across eighteen states. Each organization under the AYA umbrella is independently led and run and has its own unique identity and approach to change. The AYA supports its affiliates with funding, information, and practical advice. (Blue Tent recommends several of these groups to donors this year, including Forward Montana, Next Up Oregon, New Era Colorado, and One APIA Nevada.)

“A lot of these organizations are run by young folks, folks of color, folks who are purposefully and systematically disengaged from how to run successful organizations sometimes,” explained Bernard. “So that’s where our role really comes in.” Beyond offering management assistance, AYA acts as a donor intermediary for its umbrella organizations. It directly provides funds to its affiliates and fosters relationships between them and national donors. 

For 2024, AYA is focusing on ten battleground states expected to be close in the Presidential race and/or have important state-wide races: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. In each of these states, said Bernard, “we are running field and digital programs to ensure young people both on and off college campuses are reached. We are not only educating young people on how and where to vote — and we are trying to make voting fun — but we are also persuading and educating on the crucial issues that are at stake this fall.”

AYA and its affiliates are working to register over 140,000 young people while distributing over 2 million voter digital and physical voter guides and making over 3,000,000 contact attempts. All the while, AYA is seeking to expand its organizational network to ensure quality communication and cohesion in the critical states this fall.

A Major Push to Register Young Voters in Battleground States

“We work with a consulting firm to identify some of the gaps in these top ten electorally relevant states,” said Bernard. “And then also explore who the players are in those states who are already investing in youth organizing. So, we’ve identified a handful of groups in these states and we’re investing in these groups to build data-driven campaigns, expand their field organizing work, their strategic comms and messaging, all that good stuff.”

AYA has also commissioned fascinating youth survey research around the country that has illuminated and bolstered its organizing efforts, and it’s working to connect with activists and influencers known to Gen Z. 

“A lot of first-time voters were ten when Trump was elected,” noted Bernard. “So they might not understand the realities of what a Trump presidency was. So we’re reminding voters of how terrible it was while highlighting Project 2025.” Bernard cited the importance of safeguarding abortion and reproductive rights. AYA is investing a lot of money into supporting pro-abortion ballot measures across five states. 

With polls showing Harris and Trump in a virtual tie across key battleground states, every vote will count in what is sure to be another razor-close election. Youth turnout could prove decisive in the final outcome — along with the work of AYA and its affiliates.