Faith in Florida, a division of Faith in Action, hosted several Souls to the Polls events across South Florida over the weekend. It鈥檚 a faith-based, grassroots organization that aims to educate communities about voting.
One of those events was specifically for millennials and young voters. At Ivy Palm Beach, a night club down the street from the Supervisor of Elections building, millennials enjoyed a Sunday brunch, music and hookah 鈥� and got some voter education.
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Hosting a voter engagement event at a club might not seem like a conventional location, but the organizers say it was intentional.
鈥淸Young people] like to party,鈥� said Rohan Sutherland, the founder of Flex Your Vote, a campaign that targets young people. 鈥淪o the way to get them engaged more so is getting them in their environment where we have our DJs keep making announcements, 鈥楬ey, don鈥檛 forget to vote.鈥欌��
Sutherland says the organizers of Souls to the Polls asked him if Flex Your Vote wanted to partner with them to host some millennial events before the upcoming election. Sutherland reached out to Ivy, and they set up a Sunday brunch for participants. But his voting campaign goes beyond just throwing parties for millennials.
鈥淚t鈥檚 basically educating them,鈥� Sutherland said. 鈥淟etting them know about policies, amendments, local elections procedures, and moving forward not just on a national base.鈥�
Sutherland stressed the importance of teaching young adults about local politics rather than only focusing on the presidential race.
鈥淲hen you go to pick your presidential candidate, look at the down-ballots,鈥� Sutherland said. 鈥淔ind out who鈥檚 running for city council. Find out who鈥檚 running possibly for state representative office. We want them to learn everything about the voting process.鈥�
He added that all too often young people will say they鈥檙e Democrats or Republicans, but they vote without really understanding who they鈥檙e voting for.
鈥淭hey don鈥檛 even know what they鈥檙e tied to,鈥� Sutherland said. 鈥淲e want to educate them and what they need to look for when voting. What benefits you? Are you pro-life? Not pro-life? Or are you for gun control? Not for gun control? Just to learn the policies first before choosing the candidate.鈥�
Dyneshia Neal worked at the event on Sunday. She says some young people don鈥檛 understand that their vote could make a difference.
鈥淵oung people, first-time voters, 18 and up, get out and vote, get out and vote,鈥� Neal said. 鈥淒on鈥檛 think that your voice isn鈥檛 important. Everybody鈥檚 voices count. The more, the better.鈥�
She also mentioned that millennials have a chance to represent themselves to create the changes they want to see.
鈥淪o far it鈥檚 always the older people, the older generation that鈥檚 always talking about voting,鈥� Neal said. 鈥淣ow it鈥檚 the millennials鈥� time to get out there and show like 鈥楬ey, it鈥檚 the millennials!鈥欌��
Flex Your Vote had a van that took about 10 people down the street to the Supervisor of Elections for early voting. Then they dropped them back off at Ivy to rejoin the party.
Everyone who attended the brunch had to maintain social distance and wear a mask. Souls to the Polls will hold more millennial events in South Florida this weekend.
