Young People + Civic Participation

In the flurry of conversations about voter turnout and participation, consider this article about how to engage young people beyond elections/voting. It is excellent Brain Food, without the partisanship!

The article provides some very interesting case studies of youth engagement in cities across the US. Remember: voter participation is highly aligned with the upward mobility pillars that drive RMAPI’s work, as voting is key for both a feeling of autonomy and for a sense of belonging. (If you need a reminder of the Upward Mobility Framework, click here.)

Enjoy your weekend and GO BILLS!

Early Voting

I’m voting this weekend! In New York State, we have a voting window in case life gets busy and you can’t make it on November 5th. The window starts tomorrow, October 26th.

I received information in the mail about my voting location, the voting window dates, and the hours that my location is open. If you haven’t received this, you can look up your voting location and the details at https://voterlookup.elections.ny.gov/

Please make sure you take the time to vote!

Register to vote!

Voter registration is due October 26th, which is next Saturday.

If you are not sure whether you are registered, fill out this form.

If you are not registered, here is what you need to know:

Qualifications to Register

To qualify for voter registration in New York State, you must:

• be a United States Citizen;

• be 18 years old (you may pre-register at 16 or 17 but cannot vote until you are 18);

• be a resident of this state and the county, city or village for at least 30 days before the election;

• not be in prison for a felony conviction (click here to learn more about voting after incarceration);

• not be adjudged mentally incompetent by a court;

• not claim the right to vote elsewhere

Registration Forms

You may register to vote using the New York State Voter Registration Form found at the links below. You can complete a PDF version of the New York State Voter Registration Form on-line by clicking on the link below, typing the necessary information and selecting the appropriate boxes. Alternatively, you can print the form to complete by hand.

New York State Voter Registration Form English

New York State Voter Registration Form Spanish

Once the form is completed, you need to print the form and sign it. We cannot accept any kind of digital or Adobe-generated signature. Then, mail the form to your local county board of elections (select your county and find address here ) or return the form in person to your county board of elections, a local DMV, or any of the following agencies:

• Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services

• City Universities of New York(CUNY)

• Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired

• Department of Health - WIC Program

• Department of Labor

• Department of Social Services

• Department of State

• Division of Veterans’ Services

• Military Recruiting Offices

• Office for the Aging

• Office of Mental Health

• Office For People With Developmental Disabilities

• State Universities of New York(SUNY)

• Adult Career and Continuing Education Services-Vocational Rehabilitation(ACCES-VR)

• Workers’ Compensation Board

Again, the voter registration deadline is October 26th, so registration forms need to be returned by mail (received by 10/26) or in person by the end of the day on October 26th.

Absentee ballots also need to be requested by October 26th. For more information click here.

Curated Book on Urban Design

A close friend lent me the book Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design by Charles Montgomery after a lengthy policy conversation. He told me I needed to read it; he was right. You should read it, too!

Note that Happy City is not written by social scientists so the objective of the book is not to prove or disprove a hypothesis. I loved and recommend Happy City because it is an exercise in out-of-the-box thinking. It is a catalyst for innovative problem-solving. It provides case studies of cities across the world, told as stories, and patched together for a wholistic and human-centered approach to the complex challenges of urban areas. Happy City highlights the successes of Vancouver, Canada, Bogota, Colombia, Siena, Italy, and Paris, France, and it uses history and exceptional scholarship to make arguments about what makes a city great and how to improve the quality of life for all city residents.

“And what are our needs for happiness?... We need to walk, just as birds need to fly. We need to be around other people. We need beauty. We need contact with nature. And most of all, we need not to be excluded. We need to feel some sort of equality." (pg. 6)

Montgomery introduces concepts like challenged thriving (pg. 37), the relationship between happiness, economists, and urban design, unintended negative consequences of urban sprawl (beyond the damage to the environment!), and on page 111 Montgomery references a relevant psychological study at the University of Rochester. 

We spend so much time reading about the challenges of the City of Rochester and perhaps you find yourselves talking about those challenges in your networks. Consider reading Happy City to catalyze more creative thought about what urban transformation could look like.

Consider Happy City for your brain food - it's high quality nutrition for healthy thought! 

Source: Montgomery, C. (2013). Happy city: Transforming our lives through urban design. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York.

Curated Webinar: Black voters and the complexity of race and politics in the 2024 elections

On May 16, 2024, the Race, Prosperity, and Inclusion Initiative at Brookings held a virtual event where scholars discussed trends and insights specifically about Black voters. The live YouTube event highlighted some myths about Black voters – including debunking the idea that Black people don’t vote – and provided insight into why Black voters may not unanimously support the Democratic party in the way that popular culture would like. 

Pro tip: At about 49 minutes in, an audience member asks for how white allies can support Black voters. 

Note: Brookings will be hosting similar webinars for other racial/ethnic groups. Sign up for the Race, Prosperity, and Inclusion Initiative events newsletter here.