Four Ways to Recruit Young People into Politics

Please see below for Sarah’s video presentation about recruiting young people into politics, which she presented at a recent meeting of the Pima County Democratic Party.

I’m a Master of Public Education student at the University of Arizona, and it’s my last year, so I’m set to graduate in May. I’ve been involved in politics since I was 16 with the Young Democrats Club in my high school.

For the next few years, I volunteered with the Pinal County Democratic Party on and off and eventually did an internship for them.

I worked on some campaigns, such as those of former Congressman Tom O’Halleran and Congressional Candidate Sharon Girard, as well as a couple more.

I’m passionate about recruiting young folks to get involved because my generation is the future of America. We have the opportunity to make this country a better place, but that starts with getting involved.

Teaching about voting, campaigning, and volunteering. One way to get younger people more involved in politics is to start teaching them at a younger age. So even though middle schoolers and most high schoolers can’t vote, it’s still important to teach them about the political process. At my high school, at least, we did have a government class, but it was mostly big-picture things like what each branch does, the history of our government, and how it is what it is today.

But I think teaching people about the actual processes of politics, like voting, campaigning, and volunteering, can also be beneficial. Also, having volunteer and internship opportunities for younger people can be helpful because it will give them hands-on learning experience and make them more likely to want to be politically active as they get older.

So, just teaching at a younger age and giving more opportunities to younger people can help shape educated and politically active adults.

Showing how to get involved. Providing information and support is pivotal to getting young people to be more involved in politics. With the state of our world now, I’ve noticed that younger people are becoming increasingly interested in politics, but many don’t know where or how to get involved.

Educating with social media. I believe that political parties, organizations, and campaigns should target young folks when reaching out to voters, even before they’re 18 because it’s still important to be educated on the issues that you will eventually have a say on. But people usually don’t try to educate younger people, because they think their voice doesn’t matter.

One way we can do that is through social media. It’s widely used by young people. I would know. I’m always on social media. Advertisements for volunteer opportunities, internships, and campaigns can be beneficial on social media because they are widely used. Everyone would see it, and it would give them an opportunity to get started.

Offering internships. Lastly, I want to talk about my internship with the Pima County Democratic Party. I had a great experience. It allowed me to do a lot of things that I would not have otherwise been able to do. I was able to step out of my comfort zone as well, especially with public speaking and interviewing people.

I would have never tried even to do that without the internship. It made me feel more comfortable, especially with the support of the staff. The internship allowed for hands-on experience with mobilizing volunteers, talking to voters, and learning the intricacies of state and local government.

It also provides opportunities to work directly with the Arizona Students Association, which is focused mostly on canvassing and registering voters, but they’re also an important empowerment organization. I’m glad that we were able to work together. There are obviously amazing networking experiences. I was able to meet a lot of candidates and talk to people who would help me get further in my political career. They also emphasize having a personal passion project and are glad to help achieve intern goals.

I have a testimonial from a previous intern. Sit LollyCitlali Montoya, who was the intern for the spring of 2024. She said she loved learning about local government and the need for young people to get involved. She also got to create a podcast, and talking to people about their views was fun.

So, this internship was a great experience for me, as it was for the other people I have discussed it with. I highly recommend it to anyone young and in college who wants to start getting into politics or who just wants to have a nice experience with a great staff.

You probably already know it’s important to have young people involved in politics. I hope this might encourage you to implement more programs or reach out to more young people because my generation is the future, and it’s important for them to be educated and politically active when they get older.