Young Americans will vote this year — on our own terms

Despite what you may have heard, young Americans are going to vote in this election — millions upon millions upon millions of us. The Millennial Generation has surpassed the Baby Boomers as the largest voting bloc in the U.S., and we will decide elections up and down the ballot. We are going to tip the balance in 2016, but perhaps not for the reasons you think.

We will vote — but not due to eagerness to defeat or elect a particular Presidential candidate. We will vote — but not because of partisan attack ads. We will vote — but certainly not because of goofy “youth-targeted” ads with sex jokes or cartoons that were clearly made by middle-aged consultants who probably think we’re still into Pogs and Beanie Babies.

We will vote to drive progress on the issues that matter to us.

We will vote to advance our own values, on our own terms. We understand the stakes of this election — we live them on the daily. That’s why young people are literally powering campaigns up and down the ballot across the country. That’s why young voters made an unprecedented impact in the primaries. That’s why we’re registering and turning out hundreds of thousands of our peers. And it’s why we launched the American Voter Guide — to give young voters the tools to vote our values this year, up and down the ballot.

Young people carry the weight of an unfair economy — it is our generation that was left holding the bag with low wages and crushing student debt. We feel the agony of an unjust justice system — it is our friends and brothers and sisters lying and marching in the streets. We know and fear the risks of inaction on climate change — it is our futures that will suffer most.

We also know the strength in our numbers, and that our generation can decide the course of American history this year and beyond. With nearly 70 million millennials eligible to vote in 2016, our ballots will reinvigorate our democracy and set the agenda — when we are mobilized on our issues, and treated with respect.

At New Era Colorado and Engage Miami, we are building political power for young people year-round in two of the most important swing states in the country, and have seen firsthand the power of engaged young voters.

In Colorado, we have registered over 100,000 young voters and have leveraged that power into historic victories for clean energy at the ballot. In Miami, despite being founded barely a year ago, we have helped young people sweep a reformer into a government notorious for big giveaways to special interests. We do this by engaging peer-to-peer, on college campuses, at concerts and music festivals, at bars and bus stops — wherever young people are to be found. And we do it by organizing young people to win real policy victories and discover their power.

We have seen and helped young people transform Colorado from a testing ground for reactionary policy to one of the most cutting-edge, inclusive leaders on progressive policy in the country. We’re watching as vibrantly diverse young people grow justice in corners of Florida where it previously seemed impossible.

Now, we are working to make sure young people wield our power in 2016 to make sure young America’s values set the agenda. This year, in partnership with organizations around the country, we launched the American Voter Guide, independent information on the issues that matter for our generation, free of the influence of political parties or wealthy special interests.

[[{“fid”:”119546″,”view_mode”:”original_image”,”fields”:{“format”:”original_image”,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:”American Voter Guide”,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:”American Voter Guide”,”field_url[und][0][value]”:”American Voter Guide”,”field_folder[und]”:”1″,”field_free_html[und][0][value]”:””,”field_free_html[und][0][format]”:”full_html”,”style”:””},”type”:”media”,”attributes”:{}}]] 

Our generation has learned to be suspicious of what we see on cable news or spreading around social media. It can be hard to find trustworthy information on the candidates and issues on the ballot; and we don’t always take politicians at their word. The American Voter Guide offers a clear, simple set of contrasts on the issues that matter to young voters. Do the candidates want to take action to combat climate change? Yes or No. Do they want to reform our drug laws? Yes or No. Do they support debt-free higher education? Yes or No. It’s a one-stop shop to see where the candidates stand on our biggest issues.

Over one million paper American Voter Guides will be given out to young voters in the field this year, including in states like ours that may come down to a few thousand or even a few hundred votes. AmericanVoterGuide.org shows the major differences on the biggest contests on the ballot in every state of the Union.

With that information in hand, young voters will go to the ballot, vote our values and bring our issues to the forefront of the American conversation. Millennials will reset the course of U.S. politics, in 2016 and beyond. With the American Voter Guide, we will vote, we will vote intelligently and we will vote powerfully. Expect us.

Lizzy Stephan, named one of Rolling Stone’s “16 Young American’s Shaping the 2016 Election,” is the Executive Director of New Era Colorado, the largest grassroots youth organization in the country, engaging, educating and training a new generation of active citizens and young leaders in Colorado. Sara Yousuf is a public defender and the Board Chair of Engage Miami, the fastest growing youth electoral organizing effort in Miami-Dade, increasing engagement by developing a culture of civic participation that is impactful, interesting and fun.

The views of Contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill.