Voters of Tomorrow (VoT) is an activist group which aims to increase participation in politics by left-leaning young adults in the United States. Founded by Mexican-American immigrant and high school student Santiago Mayer in 2019, the group labels competing youth-focused political groups on the right as a “dangerous” influence on young people, while branding itself as “pro-democracy.” To advance its agenda, VoT conducts research on the political views of its target demographic and uses the data to shape its messaging, which it claims has reached “tens of millions” of social media users. ¹

Objectives

The Voters of Tomorrow agenda for 2022 contained an extensive list of left-of-center policy positions. In general, the group supports far-reaching government action to implement left-wing economic and environmentalist goals, to restrict Second Amendment rights and law enforcement power, and to prioritize the interests of minority groups in the education system and other institutions. ²

Economics and Business

VoT follows raising the federal minimum wage, as well as implementing nationwide taxpayer-funded guaranteed employment, housing, and higher education programs. The group also backs increasing funding for food stamps, Social Security, and other government programs while raising taxes. VoT calls for growing the power of labor unions and mandating leave policies in the workplace. ³

Crime and Policing

VoT claims that conventional law enforcement methods do not lower crime rates and supports reducing police department budgets in favor of funding other government programs which the group claims will reduce crime. The group also supports decriminalizing most drugs and regulating them like alcohol or tobacco and erasing the prior criminal records of drug offenders. In addition, VoT has demanded that border security and immigration law enforcement be significantly curtailed, and that presently illegal immigrants be granted American citizenship. ⁴

Health Care and Social Issues

VoT supports universal taxpayer-funded medical care and policies intended to increase the availability of abortion. The group also calls for favorable treatment of homosexuals and transgender individuals, as well as the normalization of contraception and premarital sex in public-school health-education programs. ⁵

Initiatives

The Voters of Tomorrow touts its 2020 “Prom At The Polls” campaign, which involved social media posts encouraging young people to show up to polling locations in formal attire, as its first major action, claiming that it led to “thousands” of newly registered young voters. ^{6 7}

In October 2022, the group distributed condoms on college campuses in states which implemented restrictions on abortion following the June 2022 Supreme Court ruling which overturned the 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade. VoT often uses crude language in its branding and promotional materials: the condom hand-out campaign was called “Project F*ck Fascism” and the group’s store features a pro-abortion shirt with the slogan “Get the F*ck Out of My Uterus.” ^{8 9}

VoT exclusively endorsed Democratic Party candidates in the 2022 midterm election, most notably former U.S. Representative Charlie Crist for governor of Florida, former U.S. Representative Beto O’Rourke for governor of Texas, and Stacey Abrams for governor of Georgia. The group also endorsed Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman (D) and U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) for the Senate. ¹⁰

Surveys

VoT aims to demonstrate young people’s perceived preference for Democratic Party policies by polling potential young voters. The group’s surveys often use ideological framing language: they have described Second Amendment restrictions as “gun safety” laws and claimed that the Supreme Court “overturned the right to an abortion” in its reversal of Roe v. Wade, which returned decisions on abortion to the state level. VoT survey questions have also referred to abortion as “a woman’s right to choose.” ¹¹

2022 Conference

VoT hosted a networking and activism training summit in August 2022. The event was sponsored by the American Federation of Teachers, the second-largest education-sector labor union in the United States and a member of the AFL-CIO. VoT announced that it would be inviting pro-abortion, environmentalist, and LGBT activists, as well as Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D-Philadelphia), to speak at the event. ¹²

Impact

Voters of Tomorrow has received positive publicity from left-leaning celebrities including actress Alyssa Milano, who promoted the group’s “Prom at the Polls” campaign, and MSNBC pundit Joe Scarborough, who interviewed VoT founder Santiago Mayer. ^{13 14} The group claims that it has successfully registered “thousands” of new voters and that its social media outreach efforts have reached “tens of millions” of Americans. ¹⁵

Leadership

Santiago Mayor founded VoT in 2019 when he was 17 years old. ¹⁶ He is a Democratic Party activist, having volunteered with the Kamala Harris and Joe Biden presidential campaigns and Raphael Warnock’s Senate campaign during the 2020 election cycle. ¹⁷

Funding

Voters of Tomorrow solicits donations through ActBlue, a fundraising system for Democratic Party candidates and left-of-center organizations. ¹⁸ According to the campaign finance watchdog OpenSecrets, the group’s campaigning arm VoT Action also made a sizeable donation through ActBlue to congressional candidate Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-FL) during the 2022 midterm elections. ¹⁹

1. “About Us.” Voters of Tomorrow. Accessed November 8, 2022. https://votersoftomorrow.org/about-us/
2. Gen Z Agenda 2022. Voters of Tomorrow. Accessed November 8, 2022. https://votersoftomorrow.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Voters-of-Tomorrow-Gen-Z-Agenda.pdf
3. Gen Z Agenda 2022. Voters of Tomorrow. Accessed November 8, 2022. https://votersoftomorrow.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Voters-of-Tomorrow-Gen-Z-Agenda.pdf
4. Gen Z Agenda 2022. Voters of Tomorrow. Accessed November 8, 2022. https://votersoftomorrow.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Voters-of-Tomorrow-Gen-Z-Agenda.pdf
5. Gen Z Agenda 2022. Voters of Tomorrow. Accessed November 8, 2022. https://votersoftomorrow.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Voters-of-Tomorrow-Gen-Z-Agenda.pdf
6. “About Us.” Voters of Tomorrow. Accessed November 8, 2022. https://votersoftomorrow.org/about-us/
7. Kayla Steinberg. “Prom at the Polls encourages younger voters to dress up and show up.” Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle. November 3, 2020. Accessed November 8, 2022. https://jewishchronicle.timesofisrael.com/prom-at-the-polls-encourages-younger-voters-to-dress-up-and-show-up/
8. Thousands of Condoms to be Distributed to College Students by Gen Z-Led Group Voters of Tomorrow Following Contraception Restrictions.” Voters of Tomorrow. October 14, 2022. Accessed November 8, 2022. https://votersoftomorrow.org/thousands-of-condoms-to-be-distributed-to-college-students-by-gen-z-led-group-voters-of-tomorrow-following-contraception-restrictions/
9. “Voters of Tomorrow Merch Store.” Voters of Tomorrow. Accessed November 8, 2022. https://store.votersoftomorrow.org/
10. ^[1]“Endorsements.” Voters of Tomorrow. Accessed November 8, 2022. https://votersoftomorrow.org/endorsements/
11. ^[1]“New Poll by Voters of Tomorrow Finds Youth Fear for Their Futures.” Voters of Tomorrow. July 21, 2022. Accessed November 8, 2022. https://votersoftomorrow.org/new-poll-by-voters-of-tomorrow-finds-youth-fear-for-their-futures/
12. ^[1]“Voters of Tomorrow To Hold First-of-Its-Kind Youth Political Summit.” Voters of Tomorrow. July 10, 2022. Accessed November 8, 2022. https://votersoftomorrow.org/voters-of-tomorrow-to-hold-first-of-its-kind-youtth-political-summit/
13. Alyssa Milano. “Prom at the Polls – Young Voters Taking Charge.” Sorry Not Sorry. October 26, 2020. Accessed November 8, 2022. https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/episodes/Prom-at-the-Polls—Young-Voters-Taking-Charge-eliqra
14. “Executive Director Santiago Mayer Appears on Morning Joe to Speak on Gen Z Voter Turnout.” Voters of Tomorrow. September 3, 2022. Accessed November 8, 2022. https://votersoftomorrow.org/executive-director-santiago-mayer-appears-on-morning-joe-to-speak-on-gen-z-voter-turnout/
15. “About Us.” Voters of Tomorrow. Accessed November 8, 2022. https://votersoftomorrow.org/about-us/
16. “About Us.” Voters of Tomorrow. Accessed November 8, 2022. https://votersoftomorrow.org/about-us/
17. Santiago Mayer, LinkedIn profile. Accessed November 14, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/santiago-mayer/
18. “We Are the Voters of Tomorrow.” Voters of Tomorrow. Accessed November 8, 2022. https://votersoftomorrow.org/
19. ^[1]Taylor Giorno, Jorja Siemons. “Gen Z candidates raise millions for the generation’s first federal campaigns.” OpenSecrets. July 21, 2022. Accessed November 8, 2022. https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2022/07/gen-z-candidates-run-for-federal-office/