Thank you, Utah Jazz players Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley, for speaking out and advocating for young people to have a voice in their futures by encouraging them to vote in local and national elections. In the current climate of racial, social and institutional reckoning, our youth are increasingly politically and civically engaged. In this moment, we all have an opportunity and responsibility to help educate youth so their voices are heard and their votes counted as they define their own futures.
The most powerful way to meet this moment is to express our voices and values through our votes. The Salt Lake League of Women voters has historically offered a Vote 18 Democracy class to local high schools and youth organizations. This year, because of the coronavirus, and in celebration of its 100 years of nonpartisan voting advocacy, the league is offering a digital curriculum that addresses voting rights and the process that is involved.
We encourage teachers, youth leaders, parents and teens to contact the league at vote18@lwvsl.org to receive the link for this online curriculum.
Rock the Vote, a nonprofit whose mission is to engage and activate youth, claims that more than 4 million young people will turn 18 this year and become eligible to vote in November. According to Pew Research, millennials and Generation Z will comprise 37% of the national voting block in 2020. With this in mind, please use the league’s online resource to help teens who will be 18 years old in November get educated and registered so their votes will be counted.
Pamela Grant and Leslie White, Holladay
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