New research shows younger New Yorkers have different ideas about civic engagement.
A Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement survey found Generation Z was less positive or increasingly neutral on almost three-quarters of civic terms. Terms ranking highest with the cohort included "freedom," "unity" and "community."
Amy McIsaac, managing director for learning and experimentation at Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, said a key takeaway is the most positive terms for Generation Z centered around racial equity.
"There is clearly a different relationship that Gen. Z has to the words," McIsaac observed. "I would argue the concepts behind these racial equity terms than these more traditional democracy terms, and even, in many ways the like community engagement, service terms."
She also pointed out young people have not had as much civic education, which is partly the cause of declining familiarity with civic terms. Other reasons could be lacking lived experience causing a drop in resonance with certain words. Some surveys show younger people are less likely to vote in the upcoming election than in 2020, a year with record-setting youth voter turnout.
But high schoolers are not as positive about civic engagement. A YouthTruth survey showed one-third of students across the country feel it was important to be involved in local, state or national issues. After speaking with high schoolers,
Jimmy Simpson, director of partnerships for YouthTruth, said after speaking with high schoolers, he believes lacking civic engagement is about lacking engagement in school work.
"The reason why that was important is because we know that being engaged in school is something that can help build this sense of community, help build this sense of pride in where you are, where you're from," Simpson outlined. "Students were just not feeling that."
He noted they felt it in extracurricular activities and after-school clubs. Simpson added creating a space or class where students can see their local community impacts can bolster civic engagement for students.
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Local election administrators have new guidance from Wisconsin's highest court on alternative early voting sites. A political expert says the timing is important for the battleground state ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court issued a ruling this week that bans the use of "mobile voting sites." That outcome is seen as a victory for conservatives challenging such options, but separately, the court kept in place rules that allow clerks to choose other alternative sites for absentee voting.
University of Wisconsin political science professor Barry Burden said that means these officials will still have flexibility as they sort out logistics.
"They face a lot of difficulties trying to find sites that are available," he said. "They're often repurposing a church or a school or a community building."
With the Supreme Court pausing a lower court's ruling that heavily restricted these other sites, Burden said clerks won't have added confusion as they meet deadlines for this year's election. The case has to do with the interpretation of state law that prohibits alternative sites from being set up in areas that could give one political party an advantage over another.
Burden and other political observers still expect the Wisconsin Supreme Court to issue a ruling soon about the banning of ballot dropboxes.
"The Supreme Court has considered a new case that would allow them again," he said, "and there's a new liberal majority that seems more inclined to permit those again, as they were used in 2020."
After the 2020 election, Wisconsin was one of the states embroiled in the "fake elector" scheme tied to supporters of former President Donald Trump. Even though Trump is the presumptive GOP nominee in this year's race, Burden doesn't predict the same fallout. He noted there are new guardrails, including updates to the federal Electoral Count Act, but he acknowledged there still could be lawsuits and protests in Wisconsin.
Support for this reporting was provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
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The age of both presidential front-runners has drawn extra attention in this year's race and meanwhile, North Dakota voters this week embraced setting age limits for congressional representatives for the state leaving an expert with some doubts.
In this week's primary election, 61% of voters backed a state constitutional amendment which states no one from North Dakota, elected to the U.S. House or Senate, can be 81 or older toward the end of their term.
Elizabeth Kensinger, professor of psychology at Boston College, said concerns about older people holding office is not a simple debate. She emphasized outside of dementia, the science does not support the idea an older age threshold needs to be set.
"In fact, the science might suggest that there are some things that an 80-year-old might be doing better than a 60-year-old or a 40-year-old," Kensinger stressed.
She explained it includes being able to look at the big picture on major issues and regulating emotions more effectively. Kensinger argued mental gaffes, such as forgetting a name, should be balanced with the wisdom older candidates bring.
Backers of the measure said balance is important but their plan is a common-sense approach in response to public polling favoring such requirements.
Organizers also noted their effort was not targeting anyone specific. With age concerns also prominent among some U.S. Senate members, Kensinger acknowledged screening for things such as dementia is not a bad idea but overall, voters are in a good position to decide if someone is too old to be elected.
"There's a lot that happens on the campaign trail that allows the voting public to be able to get a window, at least, into someone's mental capacity," Kensinger contended.
Those behind the measure acknowledged there will likely be court challenges but they hope other states are inspired to take similar action. Legal experts point to a past U.S. Supreme Court decision rejecting the idea of states setting stricter qualifications for federal office.
Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.
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Alabama groups are empowering residents to influence community policies with a new training program.
Alabama Arise and Alabama Values are launching "Think Big Alabama" to equip people with tools to foster change in their communities.
Anneshia Hardy, executive director of Alabama Values, a nonprofit focused on messaging and increasing community engagement, highlighted the four-part program as a way to break down information barriers in the legislative process and amplify underrepresented voices.
"This is about training folks or giving folks tools to use that operate at the intersection of messaging and narrative, taking back control of their narrative," Hardy outlined. "Also advocating and organizing in communities and using the systems that we have in place during the legislative process to be a part of the change that they want to see."
She emphasized the key skills to be taught during the training include advocating through media, policy, grassroots organizing and community engagement. She strongly believes by focusing on the core areas, people in underserved areas often impacted by poor policies will be able to tackle the issues that matter most to them.
Presdelane Harris, organizing director of Alabama Arise, said "Think Big Alabama" is all about creating more access to democracy. She explained the program goes beyond teaching people how to organize and actively encourages them to take action on critical state and local issues. One part of the program will cover how to make plans to move the needle on important policies.
"If we're going to have a strong democracy, we need more people engaged and more voices a part of the process, not fewer voices," Harris contended.
Harris added the program is open to anyone who wants to learn more about policy advocacy or be a change maker in their community. The program is currently accepting 20 people for the training, which will consist of a combination of in-person and virtual sessions. The application is open until June 28.
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