Young activists power National Voter Registration Day efforts in Southeast Michigan

Bilal Hammoud, 26, is a Dearborn Heights resident who was part of a national voter registration drive on Tuesday. He said that the effort has momentum and is “vital.” 

“Across the board in Michigan, it is critical that we are getting our citizens more involved — and the fundamental way to do that is and most impactful is through voting,” said Hammoud.  

He was one of many Michigan Millennials who organized on National Voter Registration Day (NVRD) ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm election. 

Hammoud said affordable college tuition and student loan debt elimination policies; improving health care coverage; and addressing climate change are issues that resonate with young people. 

Rebeka Islam, executive director of Asian Pacific Islander American Vote (APIA Vote), said that her nonprofit and nonpartisan organization organized in several sites Southeast Michigan, including Hart Plaza in downtown Detroit, the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and in Warren in Macomb County. 

“It’s important that we stand up and go out and go vote,” said 28-year-old Islam. 

In Detroit, NextGen America, a progressive group and the largest youth voter organization in the country, worked to register 18-to-35-year-olds (both Millennials and Gen Z) at Samaritan Center located on the city’s lower east side. 

Ahead of November’s midterm elections, NextGen America is activating its base of 25,000 volunteers and more than 140 field organizers across eight key states to mobilize more than 9.6 million young voters.

“Every cycle, NextGen celebrates NVRD by registering thousands of young voters in a single day through in-person events, calls and texts, and digital activations. In 2020, NextGen America used NVRD as part of its overall voter registration efforts that registered more than 122,000 young people for the general election — contributing to the largest youth voter turnout in American history,” said Angela Ardis, Michigan NextGen America state director. 

NVRD was first celebrated in 2012. Ardis said the organization will release the final registration numbers on Thursday. 

Michigan officials also celebrated the effort to get new voters registered.

“Our democracy is at its best when everyone has a seat at the table,” said Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat who is facing Republican Kristina Karamo on Nov. 8. “Michiganders now have more options than ever before to simply and safely register and cast their ballots. National Voter Registration Month is the perfect time to take the first step in exercising your constitutional right by registering to vote and learning more about how to participate in our elections.”