Young people won this election
November 29, 2022
Over the years, we’ve help make Oregon the #1 easiest state to vote in, brought our state’s voter registration rate to over 93%, and expanded who is eligible to register.
We’re seeing this payoff in a big way – nationally, eligible voters ages 18 – 29 cast their ballot at the second-highest rate in nearly 30 years – with 27% of the electorate voting.
In Oregon? Even higher.
An astounding 40% of young people ages 18 to 29 participated in this last election in Oregon – a significant indicator of the importance of investing in an electoral infrastructure that supports robust and inclusive civic engagement of young people.
We showed up by doing voter registration drives in high schools, endorsing values aligned candidates and ballot measures, and doing get out the vote efforts like phone banking, text banking, and door knocking to ensure our communities knew what was on the ballot this November.
Next Up Action Fund invested in contacting and sharing relevant voting information with young people across the Portland metro region.
In total, we called over 70,771 young people with information on endorsed candidates and Portland Charter Reform measure, sent 141,412 texts, knocked over 10,000 doors, hosted 22 canvasses, and hired 13 Election Organizers to help make all this happen.
So what was our impact?
Young people in Portland won Portland Charter Reform (measure 26 – 228): This is a major win for young people because it will allow for more voice and choice in elections, and geographic representation. We helped make this possible by hosting 22 canvasses, knocking on 10,904 doors, sending 141,412 texts, and making 53,576 calls.
We helped elect Annessa Hartman, for HD 40, and Catherine McMullen for County Clerk. We made 17,195 calls to help make this possible.
We are so grateful for all your support as it’s fueled the foundation of getting out the youth vote.
Warmly,
Devin Ruiz
The Bus Project taught us that young people can be trusted with power – not as “future leaders,” but as leaders of today. Today, as Next Up, we continue that work, investing in youth leadership, civic engagement, and advocacy that shifts power and strengthens our democracy.
As we close out the year, we want to say a special thank-you to those who came to last week’s “Bus Reunion,” where we gathered with some of the people who built the foundation of this organization. It was so sweet to see people reunite, some after many years! Check out some adorable photo booth photos from the night.
