Philly youth determined to make their voices heard at ‘Give Us a Ballot’ march – WHYY

Philly youth determined to make their voices heard at ‘Give Us a Ballot’ march  WHYY

Hundreds of students marched from LOVE Park to City Hall last week in a march organized by PA Youth Vote to increase civic education and youth voter turnout. What questions do you have about the 2026 elections? What major issues do you want candidates to address? Let us know. Messiah Stokes isn’t afraid of being told he’s too young to make a difference. The Lankenau High School senior was one of hundreds at PA Youth Vote’s annual “Give Us a Ballot” march. “Throughout history, it’s always been the youth who stepped up, and they’re the ones who are being affected the most,” he said. Students from more than a dozen Philadelphia high schools marched from LOVE Park to City Hall, carrying signs, chanting and encouraging their peers to vote in the upcoming midterm elections.

PA Youth Vote, a nonpartisan coalition of students, educators and community members, organized the march in partnership with the School District of Philadelphia. Stokes and other students used the march to continue protests against the district’s facilities plan, which will close or merge 17 Philadelphia schools, with changes set to begin as early as next school year. “Shutting down the school doesn’t just mean shutting down a place for them to go to,” Stokes said. “They’re going to be missing out on the bonds they had