NYC Votes: Building Youth Power Uptown for the November Election
A conversation with NYC Votes Youth Ambassador and Washington Heights native Josue Batista.
With Nov. 5 just around the corner, it’s important for New Yorkers to get informed on the election and the impact it can have on their community. It's an especially important time for local youth, considering that more than forty million young people, including eight million new voters, will be eligible to vote in this upcoming election, according to Columbia Magazine.
To help young New Yorkers become more civically engaged, NYC Votes created the Youth Ambassadors program which selects local students to become voting experts, who then help spread critical information about elections amongst their peers. Youth Ambassadors participate in weekly meetings, learn more about the city’s history, and host voter mobilization events across the five boroughs.
Ahead of the November election, Columbia Neighbors spoke with Washington Heights native Josue Batista, a sophomore at Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School and a current NYC Votes Youth Ambassador, to learn about his experience and what civic engagement means to him.
Why did you want to participate in the NYC Votes Youth Ambassadors Program?
I applied to become a Youth Ambassador because I realized that the aim of the program is to increase the involvement of youth in every election. A lot of young people my age don’t engage with elections or have plans to vote. A lot of young people tend to complain about what we like or don’t like about the situation in our communities, but we don’t often take action to change things or to make our voices heard.
By becoming a Youth Ambassador, I’ve changed my perspective on how we can all have an impact. The program has also helped me to understand why our voice is important in every election.
What were your thoughts on youth civic engagement before you joined the program?
I hadn’t thought about voting that much before I joined the program, but I knew that I wanted to change a lot of things in the neighborhood I live in. I wasn’t aware that a lot of the changes that I wanted to see can actually be impacted by who we vote for. Being a Youth Ambassador really helped me to understand why even elections that may be perceived as minor because they aren’t a big presidential election, are important.
Why do you think youth should be civically engaged, even if some of them may not be old enough to vote just yet?
Youth should be informed about every election because it’s an opportunity to learn more about the issues that matter to us and how to make our voices heard. How our families and friends vote can affect how we live our lives in our communities and everything around us.
For example, my friends and I care a lot about community cleanliness and safety, especially in the local parks that we like to hang out in. We often see a lot of conditions in our parks that are unsafe or dangerous for kids. Being involved and voting can help improve situations like that and make our surroundings better for everyone. It also helps for youth to know that their voices are being heard and that we have the power to change things for the better.
Part of the Youth Ambassadors program includes planning and executing events to increase voter participation. Can you tell us about that experience?
At the beginning of the program, we did a lot of tabling and canvassing events across the city. We went to other boroughs like Brooklyn and we had papers with voting information on it that we’d give out to people about how to get registered to vote.
On a personal level, I feel like the experience helped me open up a bit more. It was a bit hard at first because people weren’t very interested in hearing from us. But as I kept canvassing, I started to feel more confident. I was very shy at first, but I think being exposed to talking to more people helped me build my confidence and speak up more.
What kind of initiatives are you working on with Nov. 5 around the corner?
We are starting to plan voter registration drives at our schools this fall. We wanted to plan these because our schools are a place where we can really connect with other youth, especially upperclassmen who will be old enough to register to vote.
We also want to help classmates understand that it’s not just about the presidential election, but also the other elected officials or special issues that are often at the bottom or back of the voting ballot. It’s important to get informed on everything that they’ll have to vote on before they actually go out to vote.