Los Angeles Votes
Mission
Los Angeles Votes works to inform voters across LA County about how to vote during the 2020 election and increase young Angeleno’s engagement in local elections.
CONTEXT
In a historic 2020 US election year, the Global Shapers Los Angeles Hub saw a need to inform voters across LA County about the 2020 election process and increase the engagement of young Angelenos in local elections.
Gen Z and Millennials will make up 37% of the 2020 electorate. In 2016, only 48% of college students turned out to the polls. Gen Z (18-24) is a generation that’s eager to shape politics but unsure whether voting is worth the effort. While voting by mail reduces the barriers for voting, young people still cite a lack of candidates speaking to their concerns as a primary reason for not voting.
Los Angeles Votes was developed to address the concerns around both process and engagement through:
Creative memes and educational materials to make it easier for young voters to navigate the vote-by-mail process, which is especially important during a pandemic where normal processes have changed.
A platform to encourage young voters to engage with local candidates running to represent them through video questions and responses. Through this platform, young voters in the community are able to ask questions about the future of their region to local candidates directly, and we provide tools and an online space for politicians to respond and engage with them.
IMPACT
As a result of the Los Angeles initiative, the Global Shapers Los Angeles Hub was able to engage young Angelenos and local politicians around issues that matter to them.
Impact Highlights
20 local politicians engaged with the project by submitting video answers to questions posed by young Angelenos.
>4,000 page views on our website with information about how to vote, how to vote by mail, and local politicians’ views on issues that matter to young people.
LEARN MORE
Learn more about the Los Angeles Votes initiative by visiting its website: www.losangelesvotes.com. To get more information, feel free to reach out to its project leaders:
Ali Ames
Pilar Zárate