Cleta Mitchell, a prominent Republican strategist, at a GOP fundraiser lamented college students voting, as reported in the April 21 news article “Top GOP lawyer decries ease of campus voting in private pitch to RNC.” Abhorrent though they were, Ms. Mitchell’s comments were hardly surprising. States across the country are scrambling to throw up as many voting roadblocks as they can.
According to the Brennan Center for Justice, at least 150 bills restricting access to the ballot box have been introduced in 32 state legislatures this year. These measures represent nothing less than “generational gerrymandering”: the naked attempt to dilute the voting power of marginalized communities and, especially, young people.
Thankfully, young people are fighting back. Since 2021, my organization, Civic Influencers, has funded, trained and deployed more than 700 young people to “tipping-point” communities, including many of the 34 congressional districts decided by 1 percent or less in 2022. We are suing Ohio over voter ID restrictions. Countless other organizations are doing similarly important work.
Ms. Mitchell might have intended for her comments to remain under wraps. Instead, the right’s secret is officially out in the open: Heading into 2024, Republicans will stop at nothing to silence young voters. Unfortunately for the GOP, the voices of young people have never been louder. And as the past two elections have proved, America is finally starting to listen.
Maxim Thorne, Lewes, Del.
The writer is chief executive of Civic Influencers.
