"Next Up" Youth Voter Registration helping young voices be heard

Posted November 2020

By Tristan Hansen

Staff Editor

A Portland-based nonprofit organization is empowering young Oregonians to become more involved in the nation’s political affairs.

Next Up was founded as "The Bus Project" in 2002 by a group of young people who were dissatisfied with the state of politics and sought to promote change. They'd eventually purchase a bus, drive it around Oregon, and with the help of volunteers, help win certain elections and encourage thousands of people to get involved in their cause. They state their goal is to "amplify the voice and leadership of diverse young people to achieve a more just and equitable Oregon," and that throughout their 18 year history, they've worked to "achieve systems change," "develop bold leaders, " and "mobilize young voters."

Compared to other age groups, young people wield little political power and appear to be, on average, much less politically involved. In the 2018 midterms, only 32.6% of eligible voters between the ages of 18-29 voted, compared to 45.8% of voters in the next youngest age bracket, 30-44 year-olds, and a comparatively whopping 65.5% of eligible voters above 60. In the House of Representatives, the average age is 49, with the Senate being even higher at 61. In fact, there is not a single currently-serving senator below the age of 40 - the youngest being Tom Cotton, aged 43.

Such discrepancies in political power and influence can be seen across racial lines, too. In 2018, whites turned out at a higher rate than anyone else, with 57.5% of eligible white voters casting ballots. Blacks came in second at 51.4%, while turnout was at 40.4% and 40.2% for Hispanics and Asians, respectively. Furthermore, nonwhites remain underrepresented in Congress. Despite whites only accounting for approximately 61% of the US population, they compose 78% of congress.

It’s precisely this under-representation and under-involvement that Next Up hopes to combat.

“If we amplify young people’s voices toward collective action, shift power, broaden the leadership pipeline, and address the structural barriers that our generations are navigating, we’ll build a more inclusive movement for a just democracy. By enabling and amplifying the voice of current and formerly incarcerated youth, people and color, and other marginalized communities, we begin to undo historical and current systems of oppression in behaviors, policies and systems. We begin to create tangible systems change for not only those specific groups of people but for all communities,” they state.

Next Up claims they’ve aided in the pursuit of these goals, by registering and turning out thousands of youth voters, and providing leadership development programs that provide young people the opportunity to become political leaders. They posit they’ve played a key role in the passage of certain Oregon laws, such as pre-registration for 16 and 17 year olds, online voter registration, automatic voter registration, and paid postage. Anyone interested can visit www.nextuporegon.org for more information.