[hopeful music]
- We can vote because we are not powerless.
[crowd cheers]
- We are doing a get out the vote rally.
Few months ago, the City of Seattle reached out
to us, part of their program to increase voter turnout.
Millennials, the generation I'm a part of,
we are the largest population
bloc in Seattle, yet we have the second lowest turnout.
Only, you know, beaten by Gen Z.
I believe millennials have a 29% turnout last year.
Gen Z had 17%.
If you divide it by race, only one in five Latinos voted last year
and we saw similarly low turnout in the Black population.
You know, it results in our voices being silenced, right?
And it's kind of this circle that we get on to, right?
We don't see ourselves being represented in public offices.
We don't see our ideas being represented in policies that come out.
And it makes us think like, why should I vote?
It doesn't even matter. Right?
But the only way that we can get people from our communities,
get our ideas into policy is if we as a community
come out and lift people up who are doing the work out here.
Getting them elected into offices, getting policies put on ballots,
things of that nature.
- We're not going to beat up people who don't vote.
This is a mission of love.
Love for our community.
Not anger, but indignation of apathy when people do not care.
So next generation, let's join this fight together.
- I did vote!
- I did vote, yes.
- Uh huh! This is my first election.
- You can have your voice heard.
- It's so important that we build a democracy and a city
that prioritizes and values the young people's voice.
How often are they able to actually have access
to political information and to candidates and to people organizing?
And this new voter advocacy and voter engagement is so critical and important.
- The beloved community involves everything, right?
It involves loving your neighbor, helping people out.
It involves
civic responsibility as well to go out and vote
and to make sure that you are coming out
and getting resources for the community and a big way to do that is by voting.
[♪♪]