Up for Debate Akron

Too many young Americans feel disconnected from electoral politics, especially at the local level. We’ve found that young voters lack critical information about the relationship between local government, candidates, and the national issues they care about.

To shed light on the best ways to include young people in local politics and community issues, we worked with local media and community partners to create Up for Debate Akron.

Partners & Funders

Our partners included the Bliss Institute of Applied Politics and the University of Akron and our Your Vote Ohio project media partners. We also partnered with the Summit-Akron Public Library, the Center for Community Solutions at the University of Akron, Leadership Akron, Policy Matters Ohio, and the Ohio State Bar Association. Funding was provided by the Knight Foundation.

Our Approach

On October 17, 2015, we invited a group of 18 Akron residents under 35 years old to discuss why young citizens are less engaged in politics and civic life, and what could be done to get people more excited and involved. At the discussion, young voters talked about their information needs from local media around elections, their political engagement priorities, and the realities young people face when getting involved with local issues.

The reality is that most of us have no idea what candidates are saying because we feel they
are not speaking to us.

-Up for Debate Akron Participant

Deliberation Process

During the conversation with millennial Akron residents, we discussed their attitudes towards local government, local politics, local media, and community engagement.

We heard, that voting wasn’t always priority, and that the time spent becoming informed wasn’t worth the payoff of selecting a candidate that didn’t fully represent their views. Participants agreed that community involvement beyond voting also felt inadequate or insufficient.

To address these challenges, millennials wanted to see more opportunities other than voting to create local impact.They recommended the City of Akron, local media, and other institutions become more open and accessible to young adults.

Up for Debate Akron Final Report

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Outcomes

Through this discussion, we found that millennials and young adults generally want to be engaged in their communities. But to be successful, they need local institutions to better inform young people about the range opportunities to get involved. To this group, meaningful community engagement meant diversifying leadership, opening up networks, and ensuring institutional support for a range of voices and perspectives.

We are continuing to work with the incoming Mayor, City Council, and City of Akron staff to implement these recommendations.