Maine Students Votes and the League of Women Voters of Maine are working to build a different narrative for young people across Maine. One where teens and young adults know how to make a difference, take action, and be a part of our democracy.
Through our internship and fellowship programs, we pay young people to explore democracy and build their civic leadership skills. They create workshops, resources, and events to inspire and educate their peers. We give students space and support to create the future they dream of.
Over the past year, we have grown our network to include more than 120 high schools and all 28 colleges across Maine. During the fall of 2022, we worked with 21 college students who hosted events where they registered more than 600 students in two months. Helps us continue this work as students return to campus and we prepare for the coming elections.
HERE’S WHAT WE’RE DOING:
Youth Voting Network:
Peer-to-Peer engagement is one of the most effective ways to increase youth voter confidence. MSV’s model of Voting Fellows, Campus Voting Captions, and peer-trained volunteers ensures that youth are receiving accurate and relevant voting information. The Youth Voting Network is a space for young people from across Maine to connect, share resource sources, and support each other in further voter engagement amongst their peers. In 2022, our goal is to hire 10 fellows, focusing on funding fellows in more community colleges, rural campuses and other underserved communities.
You can sponsor a Fellow!
$2,000 covers the entire term of organizing and $670 covers a season. This money goes directly to the youth fellows who are the local experts on their campuses.
Summit for Youth Voting:
This day-long event will kick off with a keynote speech from a young Mainer in elected office. There will be workshop space centering around campus and school voting plans and advocating for democracy and voting in Maine, along with planned networking spaces. Fellows will facilitate the event.
Support the Summit!
$250 covers the stipend for a Youth Facilitator, and $100 covers students travel expenses.
Campus & School Support:
MSV provides trainings and workshops tailored to specific campus & school needs. We also share resource guides for youth voter engagement, grant alerts & collaboration, review campus voting plans, and more. Working on campuses with administration to institutionalize voter engagement is a central tenet of MSV’s work.