Carr ’21 & Miller ’21 Work to Empower Young Voters

Fifth Formers Devin Carr and Grayson Miller co-founded Beyond the Ballot to empower youth voters through civic education. In recognition of their efforts, they’ve been invited as speakers at The ACTivists’ Panel, led by Future Voter of Los Angeles, a youth-led organization that encourages youth voting in the Los Angeles community. The virtual event is happening on September 23, 8 p.m. EST. Click here to register and receive a zoom link to watch the Panel.

“We need to increase awareness about youth voting and the important issues surrounding it. I think that events like this are a great way to spread this message, and Grayson and I are excited to be able to represent Beyond the Ballot [at the ACTivists’ Panel]!” said Carr.

The event will feature leaders from youth-led organizations across the country, partnering to stress the non-partisan, intersectional importance of youth voting.

“While not all of the organizations speaking have missions of empowering youth voters, the ACTivists’ Panel is a space for young voices to come together and exchange ideas on how to be forces for good in our own communities and further engage the youth vote,” explained Carr.

Miller said he hopes that attendees can come away with a greater sense of empowerment as the United States approaches the 2020 Presidential election. He encourages young voters to “Take the time now to go and prepare to vote this November: Look at what local elections are happening in your area, look [to see] if your state or municipality has any referendums on the ballot, and walk into your polling place this November feeling prepared to make a decision!”

The duo founded Beyond the Ballot in July because, Carr said, “After state leadership was tested in response to COVID-19, we realized just how significant local and state government is in our day-to-day lives. This election cycle, all eyes are on the Oval Office, but Grayson and I are concerned that too many down-ballot elections are being overlooked this year. With so many members of Gen Z voting for the first time this year, we wanted to help our peers feel prepared to vote. At the end of the day, we truly believe that voting should not be a guessing game.”

The primary goal of Beyond the Ballot, Miller said, “. . . is to empower Gen Z to vote in this election and many elections to come. We plan on doing this through our civic education toolkits and brief overviews of important information regarding voting and government.”

Carr concurred, adding, “I hope to see just how impactful Gen Z already is and will continue to be in our communities and everything we devote ourselves to. Even if you aren’t 18, you can still make an impact in your community, and I can’t wait to see what others are doing at such a young age.”

For additional information, please contact Lisa M. Gillard Hanson, director of Public Relations, at lgillard@lawrenceville.org.