Muncie, IN—In an effort to help educate and encourage young people to vote in the 2020 election, the YMCA is hosting a Youth Voter Block Party on Friday September 25, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the YMCA downtown parking lot, 500 S Mulberry St. Local and state candidates will be available to answer questions, and there will be an opportunity for young voters to interact with candidates.
Sam Coffman a student from Wapahani High School is organizing the event with the hope that youth voters with will have an opportunity to ask questions of their leaders and get educated before they vote.
“We hope that candidates will see that youth voters are engaged in our democracy and are passionate about all different areas of policy,” said Coffman “This summer I was looking for a way to get involved with the election and noticed that many of my friends were as well. Without any clear opportunities in our community, we decided to create our own initiative to ensure this election doesn’t happen without the voice of young people.”
Coffman discovered that 62% of young Americans are never asked to register to vote and only 6% of students are asked to register to vote in the classroom.
“If we want to ensure our leaders steer our community towards a better future, then we as young people must take up the cause ourselves and lead,” Coffman said. “No one is going to hand down our vote to us, we must reach for it ourselves. We must register, educate, and prepare for this election ourselves. That’s why we’re working every single day to increase access to the polls for all young people in our county no matter their party, school, color, or neighborhood.”
Chad Zaucha, President and CEO of YMCA of Muncie decided to host and promote the event because it fits well with the Y’s mission.
“The YMCA has a long, proud history of promoting civic engagement. It is an essential part or our work to strengthen our community,” said Zaucha
Everyone is welcome. Please wear your mask and be aware of social distancing. Updates will be included on the YMCA’s Facebook page @YMCA of Muncie. There will be food trucks, corn hole and more.
“This event will help us create new habits of civic engagement and teaches the leaders of our community that the youth vote truly does matter,” added Coffman.
For more information about the Youth Voter Block Party, visit: https://www.muncieymca.org/youth-voters/
