Less than a year before an incredibly contentious presidential election, the University of Arizona Young Democrats club has disbanded.
Alecia Vasquez, the University of Arizona Young Democrats vice president and director of campus and social affairs said that during its operation, the club was an integral part of mobilizing young people on campus.
In addition to registering students to vote, the club also provided a space for politically involved students to collaborate and participate in the democratic process.
“A lot of it was civic engagement,” Vasquez said. “Having kids who are interested in politics get more informed about what was going on and have the opportunity to talk about current events.”
Vasquez said it is difficult to understand exactly why the club fell apart, but the trouble started when the elected president stepped down to focus on increasingly difficult studies early in fall semester.
“I offered to just fill in, tried reaching out to some of the other members but didn’t get a real response,” she said.
After that, the club never resumed operations and officially disbanded.
To Vasquez, the club represented first and foremost, a market to exchange ideas.
“I think that has definitely been lost,” Vasquez said. “That’s a huge thing.”
As of right now there are no plans or efforts to revive the club, although Vasquez expressed her desire to see the club return to campus in the future.
“I’m trying to decide how I want to approach it,” Vasquez said. “In politics, in general it is more so older people who are having these discussions. They’re addressing issues that are more meaningful to them, and this is our chance to kind of talk and bond and collaborate over issues that affect us.”
The loss leaves a void for young voters, but the Arizona chapter of the League of Women’s Voters and its associated Tucson Youth Vote are continuing its efforts to register new voters and provide education to the public, said Linda Maccabe, who chairs the group’s Voter Services Committee.
Part of that mission includes reaching young voters and getting them involved in political action.
“We have 40 million potential voters nationwide between the ages of 18 (and 27) that can vote this election,” Maccabe said. “So we are trying very hard to provide information to them in a variety of ways.”
Similar to the University of Arizona Young Democrats club, the local League of Women’s Voters is focused on civic engagement.
“We provide information to the libraries on voting information, candidates, dates, centers where (voters) can drop their ballots, etcetera,” Maccabe said.
One of the ways it is reaching voters is through its website Ready Set Vote Tucson, and its national online platform Vote 411, which provides voters with comprehensive details on registration, as well as ballot measures in each state.
“You can put in your address and it will give you all the candidates running in your election,” Maccabe said.
The group also organizes public candidate forums, giving candidates the opportunity to address issues of concern to the community.
Maccabe said that the League of Women’s Voters works with several other youth-focused organizations, including the Alliance for Youth Action, the Future Coalition, Next Gen. America, Rhizome, Young Invincibles and the Youth Voter Movement and others in order to inspire young people to get involved in politics.
To Maccabe it is important to empower young voters specifically to participate in both local and national elections.
“They are projected to represent one-fifth of the voters by 2040,” Maccabe said. “They could really reshape the political landscape.”
This sentiment was echoed by Vasquez.
“I think it’s evident that younger Americans care about politics,” Vasquez said. “They care about the issues, they care about the things happening around them.”
“They deserve to have a space to unite with people who share their views and who want to also engage in collective action,” she said.
If interested in other young voter trends in the 2024 election, further information is available here.
Arizona Sonoran News is a news service of the University of Arizona School of Journalism.