This summer, you could find our fellows registering voters at World Cup watch parties, tattoo shops, barbershops, concerts, citywide “hot girl walks,” dispensaries, and anime conventions. Not exactly the places you’d expect to find a Democratic voter registration operation. But that was the point.
When I joined the DNC this spring as National Voter Registration Director, I wanted to rethink how we reach young voters, especially working-class and non-college youth that traditional campaign outreach too often misses.
About 60% of young people ages 18–24 aren’t enrolled in college. Yet so much of what we think of as youth organizing happens on college campuses. Campus organizing is important, but it’s only part of the picture.
So where do we find everyone else?
That question helped shape When We Count, the DNC’s first-ever partisan youth voter registration fellowship, which my team and I built and piloted in Arizona and Nevada.
Our goal was to expand the Democratic electorate by reaching young people in places traditional campaigns often don’t have the time or resources to go, while training the next generation of Democratic campaign organizers.
Our fellows learned to find events on Instagram, Partiful, and Eventbrite; organize in third spaces; and register voters through their own social networks. They showed up everywhere from neighborhood businesses and concerts to Walmart parking lots and late-night food spots—often even registering voters on public transit between shifts.
Training the Next Generation of Democratic Organizers
Our Fellows are some of the most effective spokespeople for the DNC precisely because they do not come from traditional political or organizing backgrounds. Many found us through Instagram ads, and they reflect the communities we’re trying to reach and speak authentically to the issues that matter to working people.
Through rigorous training, our 112 fellows learned to navigate voting laws, organize in unconventional spaces, and persuade people who weren’t politically engaged that their vote mattered and that they should be Democrats.
In September, my team published our When We Count training materials in the DNC’s Playbook Addendum after training thousands of organizers and volunteers from state and county parties and coordinated campaigns across the country. We’re taking what we learned in Arizona and Nevada and changing how our party reaches voters in 2028 and beyond.
Thousands of New Voters Who Might Otherwise Have Been Missed
In just a few months, our fellows registered thousands of new voters across Arizona and Nevada. Of those voters, 89% were under 35, 61% identified as people of color, and 47% identified as Latino.
Our work is part of a broader shift in Arizona’s voter registration landscape. As NBC News recently reported, Democrats are beginning to reverse their voter registration losses following the 2024 election. In Arizona alone, Democrats gained ground on Republicans by 10,851 registrations between late 2025 and mid-2026. In the final weeks, our fellows helped outregister Republicans in Maricopa County more than 2 to 1.
We’re already scaling this approach beyond Arizona and Nevada, training thousands of organizers and volunteers nationwide and incorporating our strategies into the DNC’s Playbook Addendum. We’re building a new generation of Democratic organizers and changing how our party reaches voters in 2028 and beyond.
But here’s what should really scare Republicans: we didn’t disappear when voter registration deadlines passed.
Our fellows are now reconnecting with the young people they met over the summer and fall, picking up conversations they started at bars, community events, and neighborhood hangouts, and helping those voters make plans for Election Day.
These aren’t cold calls from strangers. They’re follow-up conversations with people our fellows have already met, talked politics with, and helped register to vote.
We’re turning one-time voter registration conversations into ongoing relationships, and those relationships into plans to vote.
For Republicans, the challenge isn’t just the new voters entering the electorate. It’s the possibility that those voters, and the young organizers reaching them, will still be showing up years from now.
There is still time to get involved and ensure every voter’s voice is heard. Help us show Republicans the power of grassroots organizing this Election Day.
Here is how you can take action today:
Make Calls to Our Key Battlegrounds
Direct conversations with voters are hands-down the single most powerful way to win elections. Join our national phone bank team to reach voters across key battleground districts and states! Every call helps move the needle in races that will be decided by razor-thin margins.
Join Our Voter Protection Efforts
Protecting the right to vote is one of the most critical things we can do on Election Day. From answering hotline calls to supporting voters directly at the polls, our voter protection team is on the front lines to ensure every single vote is cast and counted.
Don’t stop there! If you’ve already cast your ballot, take five minutes today to reach out to your family, friends, and neighbors to make sure they’re ready to vote too. They can easily check their registration and make a voting plan at IWillVote.com. Plus, download our Know Your Rights at the Polls guide to educate and empower voters across your community!
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This is fantastic! Please keep doing this for all future elections.