Urging New Voters to Make Their Voices Heard

As a 16-year-old, Lucy Targum is not old enough to vote.

Still, as someone who has always been interested in voter engagement and voting accessibility, she said she has felt a lot of anxiety about the upcoming election.

So, in the absence of her own ability to show up to the polls, Targum sought a way that may make a difference in persuading undecided voters to exercise their right.

That desire led to the idea to host a letter-writing event with her classmate, Caroline Espinosa, during which they will invite people from the Belmont-Arlington area to join them on Monday, Aug. 19 at Spy Pond Park in Arlington. They are using the Vote Forward website to find information of undecided young voters and sending them letters, stating the importance of voting, according to Targum.

“Vote Forward targets different group demographics every year and this year they’re focusing specifically on younger voters,” Targum said, “They have multiple campaigns in different states. I think we picked mostly from Georgia for this event. The way that the organization works is they target people who haven’t voted in recent elections, and then we’re going to ask them to vote in this upcoming election.”

Espinosa explained that the letters are non-partisan. They are formatted to have a specific outline, where the writers can explain why they think voting is important and also provide them information on the representatives of the voter’s area and their policies so that they can make an informed decision.

“I really hope that other people can see how much potential (this event) has and the opportunity we have as a local community to sort of come together, to try and help impact our country at large in whatever way that we can,” Espinosa said.

Targum notes that in the letters she is going to write, she will discuss issues like gun violence and climate crisis, and about her belief that voting can make a real difference in those areas. She hopes that reading those letters will inspire someone else to care about those issues as well and decide to vote.

What they need now is people who will help make this event a success. They are putting up fliers with a non-binding form to gauge interest, reaching out to their classmates, family members and posting on social media asking people to show up for the event and help them in writing letters to people who feel uncertain about voting and hoping to change their mind.

“If you have a lot of excitement or nervousness or any kind of emotions about the upcoming election, and you want to make more of a difference, I think this is a really impactful way to increase voter turnout,” Targum said. “I think that it’s really important everybody’s voice is heard because that’s when our democracy thrives.”

The two students are hoping the event will last around two to three hours, allowing for a steady influx of people who can write as many letters as they want. The letter-writing supplies, such as stamps and envelopes, along with some light refreshments, will be provided at the event, according to Espinosa.

Targum said she is passionate about social justice and is interested in a career that overlaps with politics and social justice. Espinosa, meanwhile, feels strongly about certain social issues and always wants to do her part in bringing change.

“Our goal is … to have a community-based event that had an impact to an extent,” Espinosa said. “So something that was able to reach people, and that was able to sort of help us feel like we were helping our democracy a little.”