They helped shape the 2025 New York City mayoral election.
Turnout among voters ages 18 to 29 nearly tripled compared with the mayoral election four years earlier, marking the largest increase of any age group.
Randy Frazer, executive director of YVote — one of Brooklyn Org’s Spark Prize winners — told Brooklyn Paper that the unprecedented surge in youth turnout stemmed from then-candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ability to energize young voters by “giving them a seat at the table” and listening to their concerns and feedback, particularly through social media.
“I think that’s what really made the difference to invigorate young people this past election season. I think if we want to continue with that same momentum, we have to continue to create seats at the table for young people,” Frazer said. “In some instances, we even have to step aside, because they do have a lot of great ideas. They have a lot of great solutions, and they just need the resources and guidance to help see those things to fruition.”
Enter YVote, a youth-led nonprofit that empowers young people ages 14 to 18 to understand and engage in democracy through programs such as Democracy Camp, the Changemakers Institute, the Civic Fellowship and youth-led media teams. The initiatives introduce participants to the political landscape and equip them to lead and shape their communities.
“That’s what really makes us unique,” Frazer said. “[The young people] develop the curriculum, they facilitate the programs, they run all of our social media, and they are in partnership and collaboration with the adult allies, which includes myself, in planning and setting the vision and direction for the organization.”
Democracy Camp lays a foundation in civic knowledge and terminology while helping students understand themselves as changemakers. The Civic Fellowship, YVote’s national program, connects participants with teens across the country to explore political issues, practice civil discourse and conduct collaborative research projects.
The Changemakers program is “almost like Democracy Camp 2.0,” Frazer said, giving students the opportunity to present their solutions to local lawmakers.
“That program is really where the research and investigation begins. The young people are digging into what are the actual problems in and around New York City, and then they’re creating tangible, actionable solutions that change makers can implement,” he said.
Among the measures students have championed are the “Vote 16” proposal, which would extend voting rights to 16- and 17-year-olds, and legislation to shift local elections to even-numbered years to coincide with federal elections, when turnout is typically higher.
“Aside from that, our issue areas typically are racial justice, climate justice, food security, immigration, and education, and our young people have created different solutions in those very areas,” Frazer said.
Traditionally, YVote participants live in neighborhoods designated by the Taskforce on Racial Inclusion & Equity, or TRIE, created under the Adams administration. Those communities are often marginalized or disenfranchised and have historically had lower levels of civic participation.
“So the young people that are coming to us from those neighborhoods, they’re super passionate about civics. They have great leadership qualities. They’re very interested in getting involved, but they don’t know enough to take advantage of the opportunities. And so we connect them by leveraging and shortening that learning gap in civics,” Frazer said.
Amid deep political polarization, YVote recognizes that young people — and others — can face attacks over their political views and incorporates mental health awareness into its programming. The organization teaches self-care, how to recognize cyberbullying and when to disengage, and how to build safe support systems.
“We have a psychologist on our board now who’s really helping us think intentionally about social, emotional learning, and mental health elements in our curriculum, and also infusing those pieces into our training. So we’re really thinking about that front as well, because we’ve got to fortify our young people to support one another,” Frazer said.
Frazer told the Brooklyn Paper that the Spark Prize underscored the organization’s credibility and could help attract additional donors and expand its network. He said YVote is always seeking guest speakers involved in politics and advocacy.
“It really brings us great pleasure to have this award because it speaks to just all of the hard work that the young people have done. It’s also brought great visibility to the organization and to the young people, and I’m just happy that they are in the spotlight in this moment,” Frazer said. “It allows us to continue to provide the resources and opportunities that young people from those TRIE neighborhoods and marginalized communities [which] won’t necessarily have opportunities to get involved, and it really allows us to stay ahead of the curve.”
