features
fall 2024
By Erica Noonan
The next time one of those “Have you registered to vote?” messages pops up on your smartphone, it could be from Lyndsey Pettengill, Class of 2026.
For Pettengill, “young voters in swing states” aren’t just political-season buzzwords. She, along with a volunteer corps of like-minded young adults across the country, spent the summer intensely focused on them, connecting online through digital voter outreach efforts like NextGen America, which bills itself as the nation’s largest nonpartisan youth voter organization.
During an average afternoon session, Pettengill will text, chat, or connect on social media platforms with as many as 500 young people, most living in swing states like Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin.
Using scripts that vary depending on the direction of the conversation, she and other volunteers chat about voter registration locations and procedures, and offer more details about how registration works in their states. Sometimes, young people just need the reassurance that their vote actually matters, she says.
“Voters my age are tired of hearing that this is the most important election of their lifetimes,” says Pettengill.
The 20-year-old political science major is no stranger to advocacy: As a childhood cancer survivor, she has been speaking out and fundraising for awareness and treatment since she was young.
“Many people feel defeated and that it doesn't matter if they vote. But my message is your vote and voice matter, and that’s the best thing about this country.”
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