Amid "shockingly low" voter turnout in Chicago's 2024 primary election, there's a concerted push to get young people involved in civics early.
The 18-24 age group consistently votes at far lower rates than older Americans according to public data, and while this year's primary bore that out, there are myriad reasons why.
The Chicago Board of Elections (CBOE) says often, young people are candidate or issue-driven, compared to older adults who have made a habit of voting over a longer period of time.
"Our mission is focused on developing young people to be informed, active and engaged citizens," said Carla Rubalcava, the managing director of Illinois programs for Mikva Challenge.
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For nearly 25 years, the nonpartisan, nonprofit group has partnered with the CBOE to to recruit and train high school students to work at polling places, giving them a first hand look at democracy in action.
At polling places across the city Tuesday, 1,100 high school students served as election judges, alongside college students and trained adults.
"We believe that the earlier they are exposed to our election process, to our democracy, to how government works, the more likely they are to vote when it is time," said Rubalcava.
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One student election judge says the process has made her want to get involved in a career in politics.
"I want to study political science, get a degree or bachelors, and probably pursue the pathway of being in Congress," said Vianny Reyes from Little Village.
Reyes was also serving as a translator at her polling place.
"You see a lot of people who don’t know English but have the opportunity to vote. You can see on their face, it kind of shames them away. To be able to translate, it’s a good thing to do for your community," she said.
For many students, working on Election Day is the first time they'll see a ballot, or the voting process, in person.
"It’s honestly easier than I thought. I thought it was way more papers and a longer process, but it’s actually pretty simple," said junior, Maritza Garcia.
Research by CIRCLE shows that young people who get involved in hands-on civic participation are more likely to be lifelong voters.
According to Mikva, of students who participated in the past, 98% reported an intention to vote in the future and 96% wanted to serve as a judge again.
"Youth feel disengaged very frequently. Especially in Chicago, we’ve seen that the youth don’t feel they have a voice," said Alison Eichhorn, a law teacher at Little Village Lawndale High School.
"Understanding the importance of their role in voting, and how systems change, and political structures, economic structures, and social structures are all dependent on the vote, when they’re able to understand the connection between the two, they’ll feel empowered," said Eichhorn.
On Tuesday, of the more than 360,000 ballots cast, the youngest voting group represented just 3.53% of the vote in Chicago.
