YVI was founded by a group of high school students from Palo Alto, California inspired to take action after directly witnessing the apathy of many minority voters during the historically high-turnout election of 2020.
The goal of YVI is to get as many people to cast their ballot as possible through calls, canvassing, and various other forms of media.
Many minority communities are voting at abysmally low rates: according to data from the US Census Bureau, Asian Americans and Hispanics shared the lowest turnout rates in all recent elections, with more than 40 percent of eligible Asian Americans and 50 percent of eligible Hispanics not having voted in the 2020 election.
We believe that politicians represent voters, not constituents, and that those who don’t vote aren’t represented. With this in mind, we believe that in spite of how tedious and confusing the voting process can be, everyone should be heard loud and clear, and everyone should vote.
Hi, I am Peter Zhang and I am the Co-Founder of YVI. I believe voting is one of the most important privileges and aspects of the United States. It was to my surprise after finding out the astoundingly low voting rate of Asian-Americans. Along with my brother, Allen, and his friends, we founded the YVI to reach out to minorities whose voices need to be heard.
Hi, I’m Angela, a senior at Lynbrook High School and vice president of YVI. Minorities are often underrepresented at both state and national levels, and I hope by joining YVI and encouraging voting amongst minorities such as Asian Americans, more voices will be heard.
Hi, I am Allen Zhang, a Freshman at Harvard University and the President and founder of YVI. I founded this grass root movement after learning that many of my family friends decided not to vote in the 2020 election. When I started looking into voting turnout rates, I realized that its far lower than what it could be among Asian and Hispanic Americans. Along with some of my friends, I try to make sure the voice of minorities are being heard loud and clear.
Hi - I am Jai Shah, the Chief of Marketing for Youth Voters Initiative. I am truly passionate about using your voice and taking advantage of your rights, which is why I chose to partake in the non-partisan voting encouragement group. During election season we know how close each race is meaning every vote counts. I believe with the right group of people we can achieve the goals of the citizens and make your voice heard.
Hi, I’m Ethan Zhang and I am the Chief of Staff of YVI . I chose to participate because I believe youth action is a strong catalyst for change and voting is the best way to implement change. With many civil rights issues being a hot topic in America, I believe we need to encourage more people to vote so lawmakers can see what change citizens want. As one of the student reps for site council at Gunn, I have learned the effects the voices of people have on a community.
Hi, I’m Nate Rodden and I’m Chief of Writing for YVI. After learning about American history Junior year and doing research into the condition of modern American democracy I found a need for change. Seeing the current level of political polarization and partisan demonization, I felt that a non-partisan organization promoting equity was a necessity. YVI empowers youth to shape American democracy and to promote their own vision of civic life for future generations.
Email: youthvotingclub@gmail.com
