League of Young Voters
{{short description|Name for two political organizations, one American and one European}}
There are two main organisations with the name of "The League of Young Voters", one in the U.S. and one in Europe.
The League of Young Voters U.S.
The American organization, also known as the League of Independent Voters and the League of Pissed Off Voters, was founded in the early 2000s by activists including Adrienne Maree Brown, Robert Biko Baker and Jessica Norwood.{{cite web|url=http://www.newarkbusinesshub.com/event/letsgrow-power-hour-on-blab-6/|title=Power Hour on BLAB|publisher=Newark Business Hub|year=2016|accessdate=2020-09-07}} Some of the founders have described the experience as one of their first exposures to political organizing.{{cite web|url=https://longreads.com/2018/04/24/earning-our-place-on-the-planet-an-interview-with-adrienne-maree-brown/|title=Examining our place on the planet|publisher=Long Reads|date=2018-04-24|accessdate=2020-09-07}} Focusing on the, 18–34 age group, one of its primary goals was preventing the re-election of George W. Bush.
The League formed connections with other youth-oriented political organizations and events, such as the League of Young Voters Education Fund, [http://www.usasnet.org United Students Against Sweatshops], [http://www.musicforamerica.org Music For America], and [http://www.hiphopconvention.org the National Hip Hop Political Convention]. These connections prompted the Village Voice to call the coalition "a lively, iconoclastic, music-aware national group".{{cite web|url=http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0430,berry,55379,1.html|title=Politics as unusual|work=The Village Voice|date=2004-07-20|accessdate=2020-09-07|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120612020202/http://www.villagevoice.com/2004-07-20/news/politics-as-unusual/|archivedate=2012-06-12}} During the 2004 election, The League worked with America Votes, a coalition of liberal organizations such as America Coming Together, the AFL–CIO and the League of Conservation Voters.{{cite web |url=http://www.americavotes.org/press/rs20oct04.cfm |title=America Votes |accessdate=2005-11-04 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20051018175717/http://www.americavotes.org/press/rs20oct04.cfm |archivedate=2005-10-18}} In 2006, it launched the voting resource website [https://web.archive.org/web/20061102200933/http://www.theballot.org/ theballot.org].
The League of Young Voters last functioned as a political action committee in 2014.{{cite web|url=https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/lookup2.php?strID=C00404574&cycle=2014|title=League of Young Voters summary|publisher=Open Secrets|year=2014|accessdate=2020-09-07}} The San Francisco League of Pissed Off Voters is an offshoot of the national organization that is still active as of 2020. It promotes progressive politics by making [http://www.theleaguesf.org/voter_guides voter guides] for San Francisco elections.
The League of Young Voters in Europe
The League of Young Voters in Europe was launched on 30 May 2013 on the Esplanade of the European Parliament in Brussels at Yo!Fest, in the presence of European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands. From an initial idea by Giuseppe Porcaro, the League took shape as an initiative of the European Youth Forum. The League of Young Voters in Europe aimed to tackle the ever decreasing youth participation at the European Parliament elections by increasing the level of youth-related information available about the elections, but also by encouraging political parties and candidates to directly target young people in their campaigns. The League was active until 2016.
References
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External links
- [http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0437,defeatbush,56704,1.html Defeat Bush: The Guide] 2004 Village Voice article on groups that at that time were working in opposition to the reelection of George W. Bush.
- [http://www.theleaguesf.org/ San Francisco League of Pissed Off Voters]
- [http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20141122180441/http://www.youngvoters.eu/ League of Young Voters in Europe website]
- [http://www.youthforum.org European Youth Forum website]