Michigan GOP Youth Vice Chair Leads Young Voters To The Polls Across Michigan

Southfield (CW50) - For someone in his early 20s, Paul Stephens's political career may not be very long, but his role as Youth Vice Chair of the Michigan Republican Party has allowed him to expand his outreach to potential young voters in Michigan. Stephens's goal as Youth Vice Chair is to work with activists across the state to reinvent youth outreach. He has spent this election season traveling across Michigan to register college students to vote. This is important, as the youth population in America makes up a large portion of potential voters, but turnout numbers still don't match those of the older generations.

However, youth turnout in Michigan did increase from 2016 to 2018, largely in part to pushes for voter registration on college campuses. Michigan Law requires voter registration to be linked to the address on driver's licenses, which means college students need to go home to vote, but with the new universal vote-by-mail system, voting for college students is easier. The big push now is getting students to register to vote.

Stephens's plan this year is to encourage youth to become active participants within our political system, providing them the knowledge and tools to become active in their communities. During his time at the Oakland County Republican Party, he was a key player in recruiting record numbers of volunteers to assist candidates up and down the ballot.

Paul Stephens, Youth Vice Chair of the Michigan Republican Party, joins Lisa Germani on Community Connect to talk about his plans to increase youth voter turnout in Michigan, as well as his future as a young leader in politics.

To learn more about the Michigan GOP, go to migop.org

Watch COMMUNITY CONNECT, Saturday at 7am on CW50