BY EMILY AGUILAR
Eastvale – A surprising number of teenagers in the area have taken an interest in the political affiliations of their country, and are inspired to spread this passion with the adults in their communities. Students of Eleanor Roosevelt High School’s club, the Young Democrats of America, (which is affiliated with the Democrats of Norco and the California Young Democrats) have made it their duty to spend their summer doing just that.
The members of the Young Democrats of America (which also extends to other high schools in the region) have begun a small campaign to increase the amount of adults over the age of 18 who are registered to vote by handing out registration forms. Settling in at the local Von’s market in Eastvale recently, the members of the club didn’t necessarily persuade shoppers to become part of the Democratic Party. Rather, the teens tried to emphasize the importance of having a voice in any upcoming election.
Shukan “Shuky” Patel, who leads the club at ERHS, is especially eager to ensure that Americans will realize the importance of voting.
“Most adults feel that their vote has little or no impact on the overall political process. Therefore, it is my fundamental belief that if we can erase this ‘my vote doesn’t matter’ mentality from the adult population, then we can have a higher turnout rate,” he said.
Patel also emphasized that teenagers who are interested in their country’s politics will have more power to change the course of the activities in the region, so he was proud to see that his peers are taking up an effort to show how important voting is.
The teenagers had success in garnering a handful of people to register. They plan on spending more days throughout August registering more voters.
