Research shows that “millennials,” typically categorized as people born in the 1980s up to the early 2000s, are the least likely to vote. But many of the decisions made by elected officials will impact them significantly now and in the future.
A group of local millennials are holding a rally Tuesday, July 29th to encourage their peers to register to vote and/or pledge to participate in upcoming local, state, and national elections.
The “Millennial Voters Rally” will take place in front of downtown’s Civic Center Plaza at 5:30 p.m. The event is a part of the WhyVote Initiative, a movement created to inform locals about the importance of voting and how refraining from doing so can adversely impact them.
Brent Hooks, one of the rally’s coordinators, said the goal is to attract at least 100 millennials to register to vote and/or agree to participate in upcoming elections as well as and spread the word about the significance of voting.
“This is going to be the most powerful thing that we can present … it’s power in unity,” said Hooks, associate project manager for Allworld Project Management. “If we go out there and show them that we have a mass of people who are down for the cause, we can make a difference.”
WhyVote representatives will conduct a press conference in front of the Civic Center Plaza at 6 p.m. And at 6:15 p.m., the group will march to the Shelby County Election Commission and help participants register to vote or submit ballots for the upcoming county election.
According to WhyVote data, millennials make up nearly a quarter of Shelby County’s population (more than 196,000 people), but only around 460 had cast votes during the early voting period of the current county election as of last week.
“This is an opportunity to show unison amongst the millennials, to send the message that we’re interested in political decisions that are being made and really want to impact the change for the future,” said Ryan Carson, project manager for The Redwing Group and another coordinator of the Millennial Voters Rally.
To find out more information about the WhyVote Initiative, contact Brent Hooks at (901) 292-1873.
Check out this week’s issue of The Memphis Flyer to read more about millennial voting.