The Anti-Authoritarian Toolkit, by D-HUB
Volume 03 | GOTV: Get Out The Vote

Young Voters Mobilization

Empowering Youth Engagement with Fresh Strategies

The Play

Young people often make up a large share of the electorate, but they consistently vote at lower rates than older generations. This isn't due to apathy alone. Many are skeptical of political institutions, frustrated by broken promises, and unsure whether voting can truly lead to change.

At this stage in their lives, they are looking toward the future. Messages based only on "fear" or "loss" may fall flat unless paired with a compelling, positive vision. To move them, campaigns must earn trust, reflect their realities, and offer a meaningful stake in shaping the future.

Tone matters. Fear may spark urgency, but purpose sustains engagement. Young voters respond best when threats are named but hope is offered. They don't just want warnings about what's at risk—they want to see what's possible.

Message alone isn't enough. Young people shouldn't just be "targeted"—they should lead. The best GOTV campaigns give them tools, trust, and space to co-create messages that feel real, relevant, and worth sharing.

Don't ask youth to follow your campaign. Invite them to own it.

Why it works

  • It centers youth as creators, not just targets. When young people shape the message, it feels authentic, boosting trust, relevance, and participation.
  • Uses trusted messengers. Youth influencers and peer mobilizers break through the noise, reaching audiences that traditional campaigns often miss.
  • Leverages social dynamics. Public commitments, viral trends, and friend-to-friend challenges generate urgency, belonging, and FOMO—all powerful drivers of youth turnout.
  • Makes voting more fun. By using gamification, challenges, and creative formats, campaigns can make voting feel exciting, personal, and worth talking about.

How it works

1. Understand and Involve Young Voters from the Start

Begin by listening. Understand how young people relate to elections—not just through data, but through dialogue. Identify what drives them and what holds them back: distrust, disinformation, disillusionment—or simply a lack of relatable information. Learn what issues matter, what tones resonate, and what language feels authentic.
Then go further. Involve young people in shaping the campaign's tone, style, and strategy from day one. When youth help define the message, they don't just hear it—they carry it. That turns them from passive targets into active co-owners of the campaign.

2. Design specific messages

Classify young voters into subgroups based on age, gender, interests, and location. Avoid limiting outreach to 'youth topics'—they engage with a wide range of issues. Create targeted, emotional messages that show how elections impact their lives, as emotion makes space for rational arguments. Most importantly, young people should help shape these messages to ensure authenticity and relevance.

3. Innovate with Engaging and Interactive Formats

Young voters are drawn to creative, dynamic formats, not traditional political messaging. Use gamification, music, interactive news on TikTok, and viral challenges to make voting exciting. Turn electoral participation into a mission with deadlines, competitions, and rewards—points, badges, or even real-world perks. Whether through games, songs, or digital challenges, make voting fun, social, and personally relevant to maximize engagement.

4. Build strategic alliances

To maximize reach and legitimacy, map and contact NGOs, student unions, youth organizations, and community groups. These allies will help expand the campaign's visibility and strengthen connections with young people through established trust-based relationships. By working with these organizations, the campaign can leverage their networks to distribute information on voter registration and participation while reinforcing engagement in familiar spaces.

5. Leverage Youth Influencers for Distribution

Integrate youth influencers into the distribution strategy to authentically amplify messages and shape opinions. Influencer organizing is central, as it is a trusted reference point for young audiences. Beyond mainstream platforms, they can also help establish a strong presence on Discord, Twitch, and Reddit, where authoritarian narratives often dominate, ensuring the campaign reaches and engages these communities effectively.

6. Create Social Pressure and FOMO Around Voting

Harness the power of social proof and peer influence to drive youth engagement. Encourage young people to publicly commit to voting by sharing their decision on social media using hashtags, challenges, and visibility campaigns. Seeing peers take action creates positive social pressure and a sense of belonging, while FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) makes voting feel like an event they don't want to be left out of.

Tips

A. Young People Leading the Way

Youth engagement works when young people lead. Avoid top-down, paternalistic approaches—instead, involve them in every campaign stage, from designing messages to being the movement's public face. Use relatable 'mirror figures' who reflect their experiences and concerns. Authenticity is key: highlight authentic voices, real stories, and real impact to inspire action and make participation feel personal and relevant.

B. Use Vote Tripling

Young voters are the best messengers for their peers. Use the Vote Tripling tactic (described in Play #1 in this volume) to turn them into mobilizers. Encourage each committed voter to personally engage three friends to register and vote. Equip them with simple scripts, digital tools, and social incentives to make participation easy and organic. This peer-to-peer model amplifies impact, making voting a collective action rather than an individual task.

Who's done it well?

Brazil: My First Vote

From Apathy to Action

In the lead-up to Brazil's 2022 elections, voter registration among young people aged 16 to 18 had reached historic lows. One major obstacle was that this age group required a special ID to vote, making the process more complex. Additionally, public opinion studies revealed widespread apathy, particularly among boys. However, girls showed greater potential for engagement, presenting a key opportunity for mobilization.

In response, civil society organizations launched Meu Primeiro Voto ("My First Vote"), a campaign designed to reverse this trend. The initiative combined targeted paid advertising with precise message segmentation, framing voting as a chance to shape the country's future. Strategic alliances with student unions helped mobilize students through on-campus events and voter registration drives.

At the same time, social media influencers played a crucial role in amplifying the campaign's reach. Among them was Anitta, Brazil's most internationally recognized pop star, known for her influence on young audiences and outspoken political activism. Other figures, such as actor Lázaro Ramos and even Hollywood star Mark Ruffalo, also joined the effort, increasing visibility and credibility.

The impact was remarkable: 2 million young people registered to vote in just two months. This surge in youth participation proved decisive in the election, with even Bolsonaro attributing part of his defeat to the increased youth turnout.

"When we saw the data, we realized there was a huge opportunity to mobilize young girls. Faced with this challenge, we put together a combination of strategic resources to ensure our message resonated. We had to produce messages that could connect with the specific interests and concerns of young people, showing them that voting wasn't just a civic duty but a chance to shape the future of our country and their place in it."

Romania: Forum Apulum

One Million for Democracy

Forum Apulum launched a campaign to mobilize young voters ahead of the 2024 elections under the slogan "One Million Young People for Democracy." Recognizing that young voters were tired of negative campaigns, the strategy focused on positive messaging. It was built on three pillars: online engagement, a nationwide caravan, and a network of young leaders trained to act within their communities.

For online engagement, the organization focused on meeting the informational needs of young citizens through content created by young people. Under the banner Gen, știri ("Gen-news"), a youth-led digital news initiative, they produced daily TikTok and Instagram news segments covering national and international topics.

The platform was created in response to young people's distrust of traditional media. Its content included explanatory videos, live event coverage, and interactive Q&A sessions, which fostered debates and allowed direct interaction with followers. Like holding up a mirror, this peer-to-peer news format ensured high engagement, demonstrating that content created by youth, for youth, is far more effective.

Similarly, offline, young leaders played a central role in organizing local activities, spreading the campaign's message, and fostering a sense of ownership. As part of their caravan through 20 cities, many of these young leaders promoted civic projects without pushing any political agenda, while the online efforts conveyed a hopeful narrative about voting.

By election day, the efforts paid off: Around 750,000 of the estimated one million first-time voters turned out, reaching a participation rate that matched that of the 65+ age group. This unprecedented youth engagement demonstrated the impact of sustained, positive outreach and the importance of empowering young people to shape democracy.

"By blending civic education, media presence, and fun, we kept the campaign vibrant and engaging. Young Romanians, tired of fear-based narratives, found a hopeful message in the campaign. It was about empowering them to vote and make a real impact, united by values like education, diversity, and democracy."

Venezuela: Take Control

Reviving Hope Among Venezuela's Disillusioned Youth

After years of electoral fraud and disillusionment, organizers ahead of Venezuela's 2024 election faced a critical challenge: widespread apathy and low voter registration among young people.

The "Toma el Control" (TC) platform tackled this by gamifying the voter mobilization process and combining technology, grassroots mobilization, and strategic communication. TC designed a four-level game, where participants advanced by completing key electoral actions:

  • "Regístrate" (Register): Guided young people through voter registration.
  • "Promueve" (Promote): Encouraged them to mobilize friends.
  • "Vota" (Vote): Ensured they showed up on Election Day.
  • "Defiende tu Voto" (Defend Your Vote): Trained them to protect election integrity.

Each level included missions, challenges, and rewards, making participation interactive and goal-driven. TC also created 390+ WhatsApp groups to mobilize voters and trained leaders in 13 states to deepen engagement.

By turning voting into an engaging experience, TC overcame barriers, educated voters, and empowered youth to see democracy as something they could reclaim.

"Using innovation and bold communication, we successfully informed and mobilized 42,551 young people nationwide. The digital campaign reached 115,234 views, engaging 72,901 individuals, and creating lasting connections with voters. Additionally, TC registered 2,300 people via our website, organized 47 mobilizations, and held 39 informational events, directly facilitating more than 2,700 voter registrations."

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