YSA's ServiceVote campaign mobilizes and supports young people to be civically engaged as advocates addressing the issues they care about in all areas of civic life.
ServiceVote is Youth Service America's campaign to engage young people in the political process, beginning with voting. Building on the significant recent growth in both youth volunteering and voting, ServiceVote 2008 challenges young people to think critically about how they can affect the issues that they work to address through service by participating in the political process and provides opportunities for them to participate in the presidential election.
To inspire and build a national movement, ServiceVote 2008 will include:
Interactive Website
Web 2.0-based website with interactive and social networking features and user-generated content
Provides a forum for young people to learn about service-related issues and share ideas about how to engage candidates during the election and beyond
Because of this national movement connecting service and voting:
Young people will:
View voting and engagement in the political process as an extension of their service.
Engage candidates on the critical issues young people are addressing through service and on national and community service policy.
Build an enduring community of engaged young people who work to address society's critical issues through innovative solutions in both direct service and public policy.
Candidates will:
View young people as assets, resources, and leaders.
Adopt issues that young voters are addressing through service in their platforms.
Support and commit to strengthen federal policy on youth service and engagement.
ServiceVote is a program of Youth Service America, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. ServiceVote activities are nonpartisan and limited to the election-related activities allowed under Youth Service America’s 501(c)3 status.
More young people are volunteering and serving their communities.
Volunteering rates in the U.S. are currently at an all-time high, fueled in large part by a more than doubling in volunteering by older teenagers (16-19) since 1989, from 13.4% to 28.4%, according to the Corporation for National and Community Service.
In 2006, applications to Teach for America hit almost 19,000, nearly triple the number in 2000; the Peace Corps took 7,810 volunteers — the largest number in 30 years — from more than 11,500 applicants in 2005, up more than 20% over the year 2000; and AmeriCorps*VISTA had a 50% jump in applicants since 2004.(USA Today)
More young people are voting and engaging in the electoral & political process.
In 2004, 20.1 million 18-29 year olds voted, a 4.3 million jump over 2000. The turnout increase (9% points) among the youngest voters was more than double that of the overall electorate (4% points). (U.S. Census Bureau)
In 2006, the youth increased by 1.9 million over 2002 levels. Turnout among the youngest voters grew by 3% points over 2002, twice the turnout increase (1.7% points) of older voters. (U.S. Census Bureau)
Young voters are attuned to the presidential debates - 77% report watching them, compared to 64% of voters of all ages. (Pew Research Center)
With the 2008 elections, we have an historic opportunity to more deeply connect service & politics.
In the 2006 CPHS , a large majority of young people say that they volunteer to help other people, not to address a social or political problem. Only 6% of youth are“activist volunteers,” who do see their volunteering as a means to address social or political problems.
Only 16% of Millennials Talk Politics Focus Group Participants view volunteering & community service as a form of politics. 51% view service as a complement to politics. 10% view service as an alternative to politics and 22% say service has nothing to do with politics.
Only 13% percent of American youth are what we call “dual activists,” engaging in at least two different forms of community engagement and two different forms of political participation, according to CIRCLE.
