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By Kelly Doherty |
College Students Encourage Youth Voter Turnout with SAVE
After being forced to wait in line for ten hours to vote because the voting precinct was not allocated enough voting machines, Matthew Segal became engaged with election issues while in college, sparking the policy reform platform that SAVE promotes.
Segal and his experiences as a college student at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio were the true inspiration for SAVE, the Student Association for Voter Empowerment. SAVE is a national, non-profit, non-partisan organization with a mission to increase youth voter turnout by removing excess barriers to voting and promoting stronger civic education for young voters.
The civic education component of the campaign came from a continuous conversation between Segal, the executive director, and Bobby Campbell, director of programs. "Matthew and I routinely discussed politics, yet the discussion often returned to the question of why our peers failed to care about politics. Perennially low voter turnout among young adults truly bothered us, eventually moving us to act," said Campbell. "We believe that, together, the parallel platforms of policy reform and civic education will lead to increased civic engagement among our generation."
From the start, the SAVE team solicited advice from professors, non-profit leaders, policy experts, friends and family. They settled on an organization model, which called for college chapters united by a central national organization. At the beginning, SAVE received several small start-up grants from groups that supported youth activists. In less than one year, Segal and his staff have built SAVE up to be among the most successful organizations in promoting youth voting. They have created a name for themselves in the non-profit community, and on Capitol Hill. SAVE has been covered by national and local news media, in addition to many websites and blogs.
SAVE chapters nationwide work with college administrators to institutionalize voter registration, host debates, discussions and town hall forums centered on electoral awareness, coordinate grassroots efforts to reform elections, lead registration programs for local high schools, disseminate voting information and resources, and collaborate with statewide press outlets to bring young voters to a forefront in the media.
SAVE staff says that anybody who wishes to make a difference must remember: believe and persevere. In order to make a change or create an impact, you must believe in the ends you are pursuing. You need to be able to commit the necessary time and energy to see your project to success. When encountering difficulty, you must persevere. "Not everybody will believe; not everybody will support you; many people will oppose you. You must believe in your cause and you must be willing to persevere through adversity."
Segal and Campbell say that the greatest obstacle facing SAVE is fundraising. In order to continue their success and continue to expand, they must secure additional funding. Donate here to SAVE and help continue the organization's success.
Current Project:
- SAVE developed a strategy to form a coalition to push Congress to declare September 2008 as "National Voter Awareness Month." The organization is in the process of helping state and local institutions deliver sample ballots, voter registration forms, absentee ballots and other educational materials to constituents nationwide.
- "Asserting the Youth Voice" featuring best selling authors, columnists, former U.S. Congressmen, and others to address the issue of portraying young voters as "non-voters" and ignoring the youth demographic on election issues.
- Roosevelt Institution Democracy Week Panel
- Town Hall Meeting with John Edwards
- Town Hall with Joe Biden
- Town Hall Forum
- Student-Led Hearing
- Capitol Hill Reception
Part of SAVE’s strategy is forming partnerships with other key organizations:
- The League of Conservation Voters Education Fund
- Earth Day Network
- Common Cause
- Mobilize.org
SAVE currently has chapters at 30 colleges and universities around the country Click here to start at chapter at your school