New York Community Trust's Patricia Swann On Looking Past 'Get Out The Vote'
More New Yorkers watched the World Series than voted in yesterday’s election.
Advocates will say we need to make voting easier, and that’s true. But what if an important and overlooked part of increasing voter turnout actually involves increasing civic participation the other 364 days per year?
If we want to get more of our neighbors to vote—not merely increase turnout by one or two points, but really deeply encourage civic participation—New Yorkers must be engaged in the issues. They must feel their own importance to the democratic process well before they enter (or avoid) the voting booth. That can’t start weeks before elections—it must be a perpetual process.
Now the good news. We’ve seen that some things work, with proper funding. Here are four ideas:
1. Action-based civics curricula in middle and high schools
Creating good citizens starts early. That’s why parents take kids in to the voting booth with them, and why they discuss the day’s news. It’s why we should focus on more robust civics education early on. Young people need to know they can make a difference—before voting age and after.
Generation Citizen, a national nonprofit with a local branch, has shown what’s possible on this front. Working in middle and high schools around the city, the organization brings civics to life. Students identify problems, build public support, speak at public forums and use the media to get things done.
Students have introduced statewide legislation to update New York's health education curriculum about opioid addiction. They’ve pressed for a City Council bill to require school cafeterias to publicize health inspection scores.
These lessons last: At the end of the semester, two-thirds of students measurably show increased civic knowledge, skills and motivation...