Unleashing Young People Power
Election Recap
reproductive justice mobilizes young people.
we need your help to continue the fight.
Key Highlights
In 2024, young people said YES to Reproductive Justice but rejected candidates and parties. Abortion won on the ballot, yet frustration with the status quo kept many home. As we face threats to our families, our safety, and the ability to live out our potential, URGE knows how to fight back and take care of our people. We know what we deserve—and we won’t ever stop fighting for Reproductive Justice for all.
This year, we challenged ourselves to bring our message of young people power to the largest audience ever. We focused on young voters in the South and Midwest, in states where the stakes and opportunities are greatest. As we continue to receive and review election data, here’s what we’re celebrating.
01. Here's what we're celebrating
URGE engaged over 300k voters in person, and nearly 3M voters digitally
02. 2024 Election Outcomes
Abortion won big on the ballot
03. Continuing The Fight
Young people commited to abortion access, safe communities, and democracy
Who is URGE?
URGE has been activating and mobilizing young people for Reproductive Justice for over 30 years.
1992
ChoiceUSA is founded by Gloria Steinem, Kristina Kiehl, and Julie Burton in 1992.
2000
Under the leadership of Executive Director Crystal Plati, and in response to polling conducted in 1999, we become exclusively youth-focused, working with young people, young people of color, and young LGBTQIA+ people.
2004
We lead the March for Women’s Lives youth contingent—one of the largest protests in U.S. history.
2010
Under the bold leadership and strategic vision of Kierra Johnson, we focus our work on states where opportunities and challenges are greatest, reducing our national footprint in order to deepen our commitment.
2014
We rebrand to URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity to better reflect our position as a young people’s reproductive justice organization and our broader focus on gender justice.
2015
URGE launches Integrated Voter Engagement project to engage and mobilize young voters.
2017
URGE co-sponsors the Women’s March.
2018
URGE welcomes our new Executive Director, Kimberly Inez McGuire. Under her leadership, URGE contributes to record youth turnout in the midterm election.
2019
URGE ratifies our new strategic plan with a focus on power building, adopting a new mission, vision, and values.
2020
The JustCARE campaign, staff, and chapters join URGE—re-launching URGE California.
2024
URGE launches “We Deserve” our most ambitious voter engagement program to date.
URGE builds young people power
in Alabama
in California
in Georgia
in Kansas
in Ohio
in Texas
Nationally
01. Here's what we're celebrating
Mobilizing young, queer, trans, and BIPoC folks in the South and Midwest.
In 2024, URGE embarked on our most ambitious voter engagement program to date, reaching over 300K voters via canvassing and direct mail, and nearly 3 million voters digitally in a year when so much was at stake for our communities.
URGE's We Deserve Campaign met young BIPoC and LGBTQIA+ people at home, work, and school. By centering joy, collective action, and the power of young people, we are letting the world know that we deserve equitable access to reproductive care, safe communities, and healthy, loving relationships with whomever we choose.
70% of voters that we canvassed joined URGE.
URGE ads in Alabama, Texas, and Georgia featuring petitions against abortion bans were 25% more effective than typical election ads.
We meet young people where they are.
Values-Based Messaging
URGE’s message to young people in 2024 was rooted in the power of community joy and collective action. This message inspired both immediate action and long-term commitment to organizing for Reproductive Justice.
Centering the Margins
URGE engaged people often marginalized from the political process: young people, BIPoC and LGBTQIA+ voters in the South and Midwest.
Building the Future
“The folks we talked to in 2024 took action to be part of URGE and the Reproductive Justice movement. We plan to train them as organizers and as voters who are engaged year-round so we can develop new leaders, grow our movement, and use our voice to stand up for Reproductive Justice.” - Serita Fontanessi, Director of Integrated Voter Engagement, URGE
Voter Engagement Approaches and Strategies
Reaching young voters requires a diverse and sophisticated approach that doesn’t solely rely on traditional door-to-door and phone tactics. URGE utilized outreach on HBCU campuses, online outreach through digital ads, mobile activation through text messaging, and traditional canvassing.
Deep Canvassing in Alabama and Ohio
URGE canvassers knocked on the door of every young voter of color in Montgomery, Alabama, and Cincinnati, Ohio—two municipalities traditionally under-engaged by the political process. Our conversations explored young people’s values, concerns, and orientation toward civic engagement. Importantly, we aren’t going away. We will continue to build authentic relationships with these communities in years to come.
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Digital Ad Program
As young people, we spend nearly half of our waking hours online, so URGE used digital channels to increase public awareness of Reproductive Justice.
HBCU + HSI Program
URGE brought relevant and resonant messages to campuses where young Black and Latine students gather, with digital ads, campus billboards, and student papers targeting HBCUs and Latine-serving institutions in our target states.
Bus Tour
We took our program on the road, providing direct services and education for HIV/AIDs and other sexual health concerns while engaging community members around the impact of voting for Reproductive Justice.
RJ Collab+
Together with leading national Reproductive Justice organizations, URGE co-founded RJ Collab+, a long-term strategy to build a feminist, multiracial democracy in our lifetimes. In October, RJ Collab+ celebrated community leaders and promoted civic engagement by organizing GOTV events in Texas, Virginia, and Georgia, and a mail program that tested novel Reproductive Justice messaging.
Texas GOTV Mail Program
Targeting 100K young voters of color in Austin, Texas, URGE ran a multilayered mail program focused on the future we deserve. The messaging centered around what we know matters to young voters of color: autonomy, equity, and collective action.
Highlights from the Field
Throughout 2024, URGE engaged young people to advocate, organize, speak out, and shift culture.
Convening Youth Leaders to Train and Build
URGE brought together 118 young leaders from across the country to Atlanta for our first in-person URGE National Leadership Summit since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This leadership summit featured deep relationship building, training on policy advocacy, civic engagement, campus organizing, self-care, and campaign planning for the upcoming semester, all aimed at a true realization of Reproductive Justice in their states and communities. Young leaders will use these skills to protect against attacks on Reproductive Justice on campus, in their communities, and beyond.
Resourcing Young People’s Good Ideas
URGE empowered community leaders and local organizations to execute creative GOTV programming by issuing microgrants and resourcing young people to make their great ideas a reality.
URGE provides both program funding and professional development for our chapters through our biannual chapter grant program. These grants fund an array of projects including: Safe Sex Kits to be distributed to students on their campus, a Food Security Fund for students experiencing food insecurity on campus, and menstrual equity campaigns. URGE’s staff works closely with chapters throughout the semester to support them with grant applications and funds to launch their projects and events. In 2024, a total of $12.5K was granted across 27 chapters.
Building URGE’s Micro-influencer Program
URGE resourced young influencers during the election cycle to generate social media and other digital content promoting equity, access, and civic engagement. Over time, we are building a trusted community of young thought leaders who tell the truth about issues that matter to their peers.
Paid Internship Program for Young Artists
Through our new Radical Art Making Progress (RAMP) Program, URGE recruited and trained young artists and activists through a 9-month virtual paid internship, culminating in a GOTV art exhibition.
“Voters in Alabama were shocked we were at their door. Almost everyone I spoke to told me how much it meant and how important it was that I was there talking to them.”
02. Election Outcomes
What happened on Election Day? What we know so far.
Republicans will control the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives. State legislatures in the South and Midwest will also be largely controlled by Republicans. Yet abortion won on the ballot — again. The data suggest an opportunity to reach young voters who care deeply about issues but not about candidates or political parties.
Despite sweeping conservative wins, Reproductive Justice is popular.
URGE remains committed to our work in the South, Midwest, and California. This means we are doubling down, investing in young people power to shape outcomes in 2026, 2028, and beyond. We know Reproductive Justice remains a top priority for our communities.
Conservative majorities control much of the South and Midwest.
Young people’s advocacy will be essential to stop abortion bans, anti-trans legislation, and anti-immigrant state policy.
Republican
Controlled
House
215 DEM
Senate
47 DEM
6 Conservative
3 Liberal
Yet Abortion Won On the Ballot—Again.
7 states passed pro-abortion initiatives in 2024—and 57% of Florida voters supported their measure, which only lost due to the 60% requirement.
Abortion Ballot Measures by State
2024
2022–2023
Insight
Abortion bans are consistently unpopular with voters of all political affiliations—even in the face of well-funded disinformation campaigns. This speaks to a disconnect for voters who care about abortion and want it to be legal and accessible, but many of whom also voted for candidates with records opposing abortion.
How Do We Explain This Paradox?
While political pundits and analysts are busy trying to explain what happened in 2024, we’re more interested in organizing for the fight ahead. What learnings can we take from the election that will help shape Reproductive Justice strategy for the next four years and beyond?
Abortion outperforms candidates
Abortion is popular. However, the political parties and candidates that support abortion are not.
URGE has an opportunity to reach voters who care about RJ issues but are turned off by politicians.
Narratives are shaping opinion
The Right’s narrative of “enemies within”— immigrants, trans people, people having abortions later in pregnancy—worked.
We need to invest heavily in counter-narratives that speak truth to power, and expansive organizing that includes more young people.
Heavy investment in radicalization
Conservatives have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into radicalizing young men (including young men of color), to significant effect.
We know young people connect with our messages. In 2025, we will create new programming to invite more young men of color into Reproductive Justice and Gender Equity organizing.
Voter engagement is down
Many young people stayed home in the 2024 election.
Young voters have real concerns about our democracy. We can combat apathy with authentic conversations.
Young voters have diverse, nuanced opinions
Young people are not a monolith—young men and young white people somewhat mirror the voting habits of their older counterparts.
URGE’s organizing treats young people as individuals and respects differences between and within communities.
Issues matter
It’s not about vibes: issues matter to young people in deciding whether to vote and for whom.
URGE’s Young People’s Policy Agenda, which addresses Abortion Rights, Immigrant Justice, Gender Equity, and other vital issues, is an essential tool to build a broad and inclusive Reproductive Justice movement.
We know how to fight back and take care of our people.
For 30 years, we have combined policy, advocacy, organizing, and civic engagement, working in the places where challenges and opportunities are greatest.
Now is the time to re-energize voters who stayed home.
Data suggests that around 6 million people who voted for Biden in 2020 stayed home in 2024. Young people were no exception: turnout and share of the vote in 2024 were lower than in 2020.
42% of young voters ages 18-29 cast ballots in the 2024 election. This is a lower youth turnout than in 2020 (which was estimated between 52-55%) and on par with the 2016 election (with turnout estimated to be 42%-44%, source: CIRCLE).
These statistics demonstrate a need for voter engagement strategies that young people can connect with—strategies that URGE is uniquely positioned to support.
Young people know elections impact abortion.
The percent of women who said this year’s presidential election will have a major impact on access to abortion and reproductive healthcare in the U.S. increased between June and September 2024, with a majority of voters across age, race, and ethnicity agreeing. Four in ten republican women agreed.
In September 2024, abortion became the single most important issue to women under age 30, with about four in ten (39%) naming it as their top issue, followed by inflation (28%). This was a significant shift from June, when half (48%) of women under age 30 cited inflation, and one in five (20%) cited abortion as their top issue.
Young people engage with URGE in a way that they don't with candidates.
Young people are worried about safety, and some candidates likely exploited that. Many surveys only offered the issue priority option of “crime” while we offered “safe communities” as an option. The more holistic framing versus the more limited option many media outlets gave is likely why we saw such a strong response in our canvassing. Young people’s views on safety are complex and do not necessarily indicate a desire for more policing but rather that issues of equity and access are addressed.
03. Continuing the Fight
Looking forward: URGE’s agenda for 2025 & beyond.
URGE will fight back against incoming attacks through vigilance, defiance, and community care. URGE will defend Reproductive Justice and Gender Equity in Congress, six states, and dozens of localities. We will organize young people to fight for equity and access on campus and in our communities. We will prioritize care and support of ourselves and each other. We will make sure young people’s voices are not silenced.
Organizing For The Young People’s Election
In 2028, Millennials and Gen Z will form the largest share of the electorate—and we will be ready.
"What are we willing to do for our collective liberation?"
Executive Director of URGE
Dear URGE Community,
As we all take stock of what’s happened, this is the same country it’s always been—one where white supremacy and misogyny run rampant, abortion access is not a guarantee, and queer and trans folks are not protected.
My own family and community in Puerto Rico aren’t even allowed to vote, despite being continually impacted by U.S. policies and the legacies of colonization. This disconnect between our country’s purported values and reality is not new.
But we know how to fight back and take care of our people. Young people, BIPoC communities, queer and trans folks, immigrants, and folks living in the South and the Midwest have consistently sparked movements for freedom and human rights under dire conditions and with little resources. Many of us come from lineages of freedom fighters, resisters, and everyday activists who have long fought for a better future.
We know what Trump’s record and Project 2025 foretell: threats to our families, our safety, and the ability to live out our potential. At the same time, the American people have delivered a powerful mandate to stop the suffering and deaths caused by Trump’s abortion bans.
In the tribulations to come, inaction is not an option. We will need to embrace and protect our immigrant neighbors, our trans siblings, and people who need abortions, and we all need to ask ourselves what we are willing to do for each other and for our collective liberation.
In 2025, URGE will focus on:
- Defending reproductive care everywhere we can—at the local, state, and federal levels.
- Organizing young people to fight for equity and access on campus and in our communities.
- Shifting culture and public opinion for durable victories in the future, including among young men of color.
- Supporting young people’s survival and networks of community care.
- Upholding democracy and building toward the 2028 Young People’s Election.
Vigilance. Defiance. Community care.
We know what we deserve—and we won’t ever stop fighting for Reproductive Justice for all.
En solidaridad,
Kimberly Inez McGuire
Executive Director, URGE
Advancing Young People’s Agenda
In local, state, and federal legislatures URGE will bring young people’s voices and expertise to the halls of power. We will build and demonstrate public support for our policy agenda and demand that elected officials address the twin crises of abortion access and democracy while defending our communities from harmful attacks.
Accessing Abortion Without Barriers
Supporting Trans, Intersex and Queer Young People
Realizing the Potential of Our Democracy
2025 Young People’s Reproductive Justice Policy Agenda
Access to Healthcare and Comprehensive Sex Education
Transforming Our Economy So Young People Can Thrive
Creating Safe And Healthy Communities
