The Colorado Democracy Challenge is a New Era Colorado program that aims to empower high school students to be civically engaged members of their community. Our organizers will work with high schools across Colorado to promote lifelong habits around civic engagement. We do this by pre-registering students to vote, training volunteers to be civic leaders at their schools, and leading workshops on how to be civically involved in all areas of local government.
In order to build lasting youth power, it’s critical to build lifelong habits of engagement early! Research shows that if young people vote in their first three elections, they’re more likely to be lifelong voters. As a nonpartisan voter registration drive, we’re able to assist any eligible voter in registering to vote in Colorado—students & teachers alike! Colorado law allows 15, 16, and 17-year-old citizens to pre-register to vote so when they turn 18, they’ll automatically be eligible to vote in the next election!
Young people and their ideas are revolutionary. When young people are well-informed, well-resourced, and invested in, they have the power to lead the change they want to see in their communities. We want to meaningfully and intentionally provide high school students with the skills and education they need to become effective leaders at their schools and within their communities. Volunteer with us to get trained on voter registration and lead your own voter registration drive at your high school!
Young people’s experiences deserve to be heard and considered in the halls of power such as city council and the state Capitol. It’s our mission to break down barriers to these systems by providing high schoolers with the education necessary to know how to influence decisions in local and state government! We can provide workshops on providing testimony at the Colorado Capitol or writing to your local city council member to advocate for whatever issues students are passionate about.