Happy belated Labor Day, Young Democrats!

It seems about time that we’ve all recovered from YDA Vegas — and the work is in full swing to prepare for elections on Nov. 7, 2023, and the big one, Nov. 5, 2024. 

Your YDA team is committed to keeping you in the know, and we’re jazzed to highlight the Young Democrats doing incredible work in Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, Arkansas, and across the country. The work we do together is only getting more important and more urgent. You know it, and we know it: bans on reproductive health care, attacks on our democracy and the impending climate crisis are going to be debated and tested every single day for the next two years. 

We’re ready to speak up and move fast to fight for the future young people deserve. Here’s your need-to-know news from YDA and a special invitation to sign up and be a part of National Voter Registration Day and Week with us!

Upcoming Events: 

Labor Day - Sept. 4, 2023

National Voter Registration Week - Sept. 17 - 23, 2023

National Voter Registration Day - Sept.19, 2023

Republican Debate - Sept. 27, 2023

Former President Donald Trump trial date in New York civil business fraud case - Oct. 2, 2023

Fall DNC Meeting - Oct. 7 - 9, 2023 - St. Louis, Missouri

Trial date in Georgia for at least one of Trump's co-defendants (there's no trial date yet set for Trump) - Oct. 23, 2023

College Democrats of America Convention - Oct. 27 - 29, 2023 - Little Rock, Arkansas

Election Day in Ohio, Virginia, Kentucky, and more - Nov. 7, 2023

YDA at Work

As the Young Democrats of America, we’re inviting you to participate in National Voter Registration Week (9.17.23 - 9.23.23) with us!

The best people to get young folks to register to vote are other young people.

For ONE week, it’s all hands on deck.

Whether your capacity is a social media post, sharing resources, texting a friend or two, or having a full-out tabling event, we’re asking you to add your name to the list of young people who have signed up to organize with us.

Sign up to spread the word and receive additional resources, graphics, press kits, and tools as they come out. This is a week of action you’ll want to be a part of — so let’s do this!

There are no off-years in Virginia! Virginia has all 140 seats in their General Assembly up for re-election and it will have massive repercussions for the rest of the country.

Virginia Young Democrats are

• Investing in their local chapters — especially in battleground districts

• Working to expand the State Senate Majority

• Knocking doors to flip the House of Delegates

• And most importantly, building power across the board to block Gov. Glenn Youngkin's dangerously regressive agenda

If that’s the kind of work you want to support, chip in $20.23 or sign up for a YDA Volunteer team!

ICYMI: Ohio Young Democrats campaigned hard all summer long to defeat an anti-democratic ballot issue that would have stripped away the long-established rights of Ohioans to use the power of statewide referendums and initiatives to better their lives and state — and OYD WON big.

OYD were a critical part of a statewide coalition that came together to protect and safeguard direct democracy in Ohio. The GOP-referred Issue 1 sought to raise the percentage needed to pass statewide ballot measures to 60%, an extraordinarily difficult requirement which would have replaced the basic and fundamental idea of majority rule. The motive? As always, the Republican long game is to undermine the fundamental reproductive rights of Ohioans.

That’s why Ohio Young Democrats are back on the ground, encouraging voters to say YES to a constitutional amendment that will allow Ohioans to make their own reproductive health care choices. With an approaching election on Nov. 7, 2023, YDA is prepared to step up with resources and support for our friends in the Buckeye state for the next two months as they do what YD’s do best — spread the word and GOTV. We’re not just playing defense in Ohio — we’re leading the charge for real change.

The hardworking team at the Ohio Young Democrats can accomplish anything they set their minds to (Remember #YDACincy?), and we know every dollar they get will go to protecting the future and the human rights of young Ohioans through political organizing. Investing in the Ohio Young Democrats now helps YDA ensure a WIN for bodily autonomy on Nov. 7, 2023.

Young Democrats of America President Quentin Wathum-Ocama concedes that young voters aren’t necessarily enthusiastic about a Trump-Biden rematch, but he hopes that Trump’s polarizing candidacy will give Wathum-Ocama’s party the energy Biden cannot.

“Yes, people want a younger generation of politicians. We’ve always talked about Joe Biden as — even he’s said — as a transitional figure in our political life,” he said. ”As much as we’re seeing folks, for whatever reason, may not be excited or whatever, to me, it comes back to democracy is on the line.”

Young Democrats of North Carolina make national news for protests against gun violence

"A shooting that left a faculty member dead and frightened students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has galvanized gun safety advocates and local Democrats, who rallied the grieving campus community Wednesday to fight for stricter state gun laws.

About 600 students held protest signs on a large lawn in the heart of campus and bowed their heads during a moment of silence as the iconic campus Bell Tower rang in honor of the deceased associate professor, Zijie Yan.

As Republicans plan to redraw legislative maps in a special session this fall, state Democrats are preparing for an uphill battle in 2024, said state party chair Anderson Clayton. Elected at 25 years old, Clayton has trained her focus on young voters, whom she views as essential to shedding Democrats’ superminority status in the legislature, holding onto congressional seats and retaining control of the governor’s office after Gov. Roy Cooper ends his term.

“Now is always the time” for political action, she told the crowd. “Now’s too late in a lot of ways to be thinking about what we’re doing at this moment and how you can engage and put your voices out there.”

Volunteers with the UNC Young Democrats registered 24 new voters at the rally, the organization said.

Clayton called for “a reckoning in our state capital” and accused Republican leadership of not taking the shooting seriously.

Young Democrats in Arkansas stand up for Black History

The president of the largest youth political organization in the state is calling the refusal to recognize AP African American Studies as an approved AP course "racist."

"Black history is Arkansas history,” Young Democrats of Arkansas President Allison Grigsby Sweatman said in a statement Monday. “Removing AP African American Studies from the list of approved AP courses is a blatantly racist move by Sarah Sanders’ new Department of Education. As usual, our state deserves better, and we will continue to fight until all Arkansas students receive the education they deserve.”

Do you know a YDA chartered unit that should be highlighted in our next newsletter? Email us at [email protected] to let us know which unit and why! 

We've made more than 50 appointments in key roles, and we're seeking a few more folks!

The Young Democrats of America are still seeking applications for a few positions on our Communications and Chapter Development teams, Policy teams, and several committees. Do you wanna be a part of the change we're making with chapters across the nation? We need your help, and we'd encourage you to apply for some of the key positions left unfilled.