If there’s one phrase we all can’t seem to escape, it’s “unprecedented times.” We’ve been living through “unprecedented times” for 19 months: going to work; attending school; witnessing and participating in a historic movement for Black lives; and experiencing one of the most tense election seasons in U.S. history – all under the inescapable conditions of a global pandemic and systemic racial injustice.
One of the few silver linings of last year was the unprecedented levels of commitment, engagement, and organization by activists that helped make the 2020 election the most participatory in our nation’s history, despite the obstacles created by COVID-19 and the structural barriers that often make voting disproportionately difficult for people of color, young people, the elderly, and people with disabilities. Among young voters especially, turnout skyrocketed to 50% – an 11-point increase over the 2016 election.