PITTSBURGH (AP) — At Perry Traditional Academy, students took time out from classes on a recent Thursday to listen quietly in the school auditorium while a small group of their classmates questioned the four candidates running in Pittsburgh's upcoming mayoral primary.
The topics covered an array of issues important to the teens: policing, school funding and youth involvement in their administrations.
The forum, coordinated by the Allegheny Youth Vote Coalition working with Pittsburgh Public Schools, was the eighth held at a public high school in the city, all designed to get the youngest and future voters involved in elections. After the candidates left, they had a short oral civics test on elections, with prizes for correct answers.
What’s happening in Pittsburgh and surrounding Allegheny County is part of a national trend.
Young people have consistently turned out to vote at lower rates than older Americans. Civic organizations are hoping to reverse that by getting teenagers engaged in public debate before they are even eligible to vote, seeing it as foundational to the future of U.S. democracy.
A Pew Research Center analysis found that voters under the age of 30 made up 15% of voters in the 2020 election and 27% of nonvoters, a slight improvement in both categories over 2016, when that demographic was 13% of all voters and 33% of nonvoters. Voters were also much older than nonvoters, on average, in the 2018 and 2022 midterm elections, according to Pew.
Allowing teens to have a voice in local elections
Among the groups leading the effort nationally is the Civics Center, which works with high schoolers to run voter registration drives and hold forums that are geared toward raising their participation in elections. Others, such as The Gem Project Inc., in Newark, New Jersey, have pushed for students to be able to register and cast ballots in local elections before they turn 18.
Last year, the Newark City Council dropped the minimum voting age to 16 for school board elections, making it the first municipality in the state and the second largest city in the country to do so for any election. Oakland was the largest city in the U.S. to lower its voting age in 2020, but teens voted for the first time last year.
Breanna Quist, 18, and one of the recent registrants in Newark, said the push was especially important to her because it allowed students to vote for an office, school board, that directly affects them.
“This just shows how young people should always just take action. They shouldn’t be fearful. They should always advocate for what they believe is right,” she said during an interview at a voter registration town hall earlier this year.
Nishani Ward, 16, said it was an inspiration when Newark lowered the voting age for local elections.
“Doing this right now, I’m more likely to do it in the future and do it more routinely in the future," she said.
Media reports said turnout among 16- and 17-year-old registered voters in the April school board election was less than 4% but outpaced the overall turnout.
Helping young people learn their role in democracy
In some places across the country, young people have had success when demanding a greater voice in political decisions. They've argued that voting adults don’t always consider them or their needs when casting their ballots. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 21 states and the District of Columbia allow 17-year-olds who will turn 18 by the time of a general election to vote in primaries.
Even though the youth vote tends to bend left politically, this might be a good time to reconsider the minimum age because it's become less predictable, said Daniel Hart, a professor of psychology at Rutgers University who has studied lowering the voting age.
Data from AP VoteCast, a survey of interviews with registered voters in all 50 states, found that Democrat Kamala Harris had a slight edge over Republican Donald Trump among young voters, but young men swung to the right for Trump even if they didn't agree with him on all issues.
The Allegheny Youth Vote Coalition held two vote huddles in 2024, drawing students from throughout the county. They learned about the electoral process and held more than 20 voter registration drives, said Rachel Martin Golman, senior director of social impact of the National Council of Jewish Women Pittsburgh and a coalition member.
During a workshop earlier this year, one student attendee asked why the candidates didn't come speak to them, Golman said: ”And we all thought, yes, why not, and worked to make it happen."
Laura Brill, the founder and CEO of the Civics Center, a Los Angeles-based coalition member, said the point is that “most teens today have few opportunities to consider their important role in our democracy.” She said engaging the candidates directly is “the kind of formative experience we believe has been missing from high schools for decades and has undoubtedly led to the low rates of engagement we see among the up-and-coming voters.”
‘You are the future’
At Perry, the students in the audience didn't shy away from asking questions important to them and their peers.
Makaila Nyambe, 17, asked each mayoral candidate about funding for schools, while fellow junior Deahmi Mobley questioned how they might establish a good relationship between law enforcement and teens. Previous forums at other schools included questions on other issues, including how each candidate would implement diversity, equity and inclusion into their administrations.
Trash, homelessness and public safety came up constantly, along with a disagreement over whether more school spending would improve academic performance. Infrastructure, road repairs and cuts to public transit also generated discussion.
The students listened closely when all four candidates talked about neighborhood policing and building relationships -- and about the importance of young people at such a forum.
"You are the leaders we have been waiting for,” said one of the mayoral candidates, retired Pittsburgh police detective Tony Moreno.
“You are the future of Pittsburgh,” said another candidate, Thomas West, a business owner and former television news producer. "You are the future of America.”
Stalea Chapman, a 17-year-old senior, said afterward she was glad the candidates were taking the students seriously and reaching out to them because their futures are intertwined with politics and policies, especially now.
“It is a lot of pressure being young and seeing what the economy is turning to and what’s going on in the world," she said. "It’s frightening for young people because we want to be successful.”
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Alexander reported from Newark, New Jersey. Associated Press Polling Editor Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux contributed to this article.
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Gary Fields And Ayanna Alexander, The Associated Press
