OUR MISSION
VOTING TO BUILD THE FUTURE:
GET REGISTERED, GET INFORMED, COMMIT TO VOTE
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
“Our First Vote empowers American High School students to use our collective power as a voting block to change the world into one we want to inherit.”
Our mission is to motivate young voters and high school students to get informed about the issues that impact their lives. So...
WHAT IS OUR FIRST VOTE?
Our First Vote is a peer-to-peer, nonpartisan youth voter registration organization created by students, for students! We are passionate about encouraging our peers to participate in democracy, as we know how crucial our generation’s voter block is for shaping American democracy. Founded in 2016 in Southern California, we were able to build a strong student ambassador network across several southern California high schools, registering and pre-registering students year-round with fun and interactive voter drives.
We’ve developed a successful formula for planning and hosting drives on high school campuses (using laptops, friends, donuts, and wireless speakers) which has brought us much success over the last few years. We’re working on expanding our outreach across the country beginning New York and Pennsylvania, with the hope that every high school in America will be inspired by our and our peers’ work to get millions of students registered. We are currently gearing up for the 2020 Election, and are working to adapt our voter-drive plan to include easy access to online drives through Zoom and other platforms!
CURRENT STATISTICS
66.8 %
OF ELIGIBLE VOTERS ARE REGISTERED
65.5%
OF REGISTERED VOTERS VOTED in 2016 ELECTION
50%
OF REGISTERED MILLENNIAL VOTERS WAS THE HIGHEST WATER MARK FOR MILLENNIAL TURNOUT (2008)
OUR GOALS
** Millennials are now on par with Generation X (ages 35-51) and will soon be the largest voting block in America. If we mobilize, we will be the deciding factor.
WHY OFV NOW?
As the GEN-Zers and millennials of America, we make up a HUGE voting block. We have the power to sway any election with our votes. It is our job to make sure we are informed about issues that affect our society and decide where we stand on these issues. The first step is getting informed about which candidates support our goals and our priorities so that we can make our votes count. On our Get Informed Page, you will find links to several incredible organizations and resources for educating Americans about how our democracy is run and who is responsible for running it. Several of these resources can connect students directly with their representatives! Staying educated and making an informed vote is how we shape the world that we will soon inherit and make it the best one possible.
OUR FIRST VOTE is proud to receive our first endorsement from none other than BILL NYE THE SCIENCE GUY!!!
