| Brooklyn Senneway | Youth Today |
…We also need to reform the way young people experience elections. For many first-time voters, the system feels outdated, binary and disconnected from the issues that matter to them. Ranked choice voting, now used in cities like New York and San Francisco, lets voters rank candidates in order of preference, rather than choosing just one. It encourages more civil discourse, supports diverse candidates and gives youth more meaningful options. In NYC’s first citywide use of the system, 88.3% of voters used the full ranking feature. That shows young voters can and will engage with complexity when we let them.
Demystify the policy
But reform won’t happen on its own. Youth have a critical role to play in pushing for election changes. They can testify at local council meetings, organize teach-ins on how ranked choice voting works or partner with coalitions already advocating for reform. Youth-led organizations like GenZVotes can help demystify the policy, create accessible explainers and amplify youth voices in the debate. Other groups, such as student government associations and statewide civic coalitions, can provide platforms for young people to speak directly with decision-makers. Reforming elections isn’t just about new rules on paper — it’s about equipping a generation to demand and design systems that reflect them.
Brooklyn Senneway, GenZVotes California Central Valley