100 High School Seniors Cast Their Votes at First-Ever Allegheny Youth Vote Block Party

Every spring, hundreds of Allegheny County teens become eligible to cast their first-ever votes.  On April 30, the Allegheny Youth Vote Coalition, of which NCJW-Pgh is a founding and convening member, held our first block party event Downtown at the City County Building to celebrate area students who were casting their very first ballots. 

Over 100 eligible teens from area high schools  voted early through over-the-counter mail-in ballots at the Allegheny County Elections Office, with their friends and the community cheering them on.  After casting their ballots, students then joined the celebration including music and dancing provided by 1HOOD Media, as well as food trucks, lawn and video games, trivia games with prizes, a photo booth, and a community resource fair.  

For the past three years, the Coalition has been engaging students across Allegheny County with programming to help young people realize the power of their voice and their ballot, and support them in becoming thoughtful participants in democracy. This has included over 50 student-run, adult supported voter registration drives, youth vote Huddles at public libraries and museums in Pittsburgh, and student-led mayoral candidate interviews at Pittsburgh Public high schools. 

With support from coalition organizations like The Civics Center, PA Youth Vote, and National Council of Jewish Women - Pittsburgh, student ambassadors have spent the past few months planning and running voter registration drives in their schools to engage their peers in the civic process. But registration is just the first step—it’s tremendously important that young people then turn out to vote, and the Allegheny Youth Vote Coalition wanted to create an event to celebrate this milestone moment in the lives of new voters.

The Youth Vote Block Party was presented by the Heinz Endowments and supported by a number of community partner organizations. 

ABOUT THE ALLEGHENY YOUTH VOTE COALITION

The Allegheny Youth Vote Coalition,  established in 2023, is a nonpartisan group of organizations focused on engaging students in civic activities, supporting informed voting, and facilitating dialogue between youth and elected officials. The Coalition aims to boost students’ confidence and understanding of the voting process, particularly at the local level, through peer organizing, interactive education, and conversations with officials. The Allegheny Youth Vote Coalition member organizations are: PA Youth Vote, The Civics Center, National Council of Jewish Women - Pittsburgh, the Black Political Empowerment Project (B-PEP), League of Women Voters of Greater Pittsburgh, the Women and Girls Foundation of Pittsburgh, The Links - Pittsburgh Chapter, and Voteriders.