Why We’re Running For Office

Age: 20 / Hometown: Skokie, Illinois / Running for: Cook County Board / Key cause: Advocating for the middle class and small businesses

Age: 20 / Hometown: Skokie, Illinois / Running for: Cook County Board / Key cause: Advocating for the middle class and small businesses

On a recent morning, Bushra Amiwala cheerfully approached shoppers at a supermarket in Chicago, Illinois. “Do you have time for a quick signature?” she asked, before introducing herself. Bushra was with a bunch of young volunteers. They were collecting signatures to get her name on the ballot for the Cook County Board of Commissioners. That’s the legislative body in charge of the county’s laws and finances.

A sophomore at DePaul University in Chicago, Bushra received 1,300 signatures. That was well over the 380 needed to secure her spot on the ballot. This March, she’ll go up against a four-term incumbent in the Democratic primary. If she wins that, she’ll compete in the general election in November.

Bushra's parents emigrated from Pakistan just before she was born. She says she’s running to be an advocate for her generation. Many of her volunteers are her age and are working on their first campaign.

“We should have a voice as well,” she says. “We are all desperate to be heard, and it is about time someone were here to listen.”

Across the country, young people like Bushra are getting involved in politics. They’re participating in protests, donating to causes, or running for office. In Kansas alone, five teens are campaigning for governor. Another teen, eighth-grader Ethan Sonneborn, 13, is running for governor of Vermont. Kansas and Vermont are the only states with no minimum age requirement to serve as governor. In the past year, about 430 people under age 25 have contacted Run for Something about running for office. It’s a liberal-leaning group that recruits young candidates.

Seasoned politicians have been skeptical of teens’ abilities. “Maybe they ought to run for student council instead,” one Kansas lawmaker suggested. Despite this, young people believe they have something to bring to the table.

And they’re right, says Svante Myrick. At age 24, he was elected the youngest-ever mayor of Ithaca, New York, in 2011. As Myrick recently told Time, “The youngest generation is pretty sure that we can do it better than the folks that have been doing it for a long time.”    

Age: 17 / Hometown: New York, New York / Running for: New York State Senate / Key cause: Providing tuition assistance for undocumented immigrants

Age: 17 / Hometown: New York, New York / Running for: New York State Senate / Key cause: Providing tuition assistance for undocumented immigrants

When young people run for office, they tend to seek positions at the local level, which have fewer age restrictions. Candidates as young as 18 are accepted for many such jobs—on the school board, city council, or even as mayor. (At the federal level, candidates must be at least 35 to serve as president, at least 30 to be a U.S. senator, and at least 25 to sit in the U.S. House of Representatives.)

Plus, holding a local office gives teens a chance to affect policy on the issues they care most about, including education and the environment.

“A lot of important government activity happens at the local level,” says William Howell, a political science professor at the University of Chicago.

A desire to effect change is what motivated Tahseen Chowdhury, a 17-year-old senior at Stuyvesant High School in New York City, to run for the state senate. Tahseen, who will turn 18 before the Democratic primary this fall, wants to institute a tuition assistance program for young undocumented immigrants who are struggling to pay for college.

With many voters believing that politicians are often tied to “special interests”—groups like corporations and unions that are pushing their own agendas—being a young candidate has its advantages. “I’m so young, that it’s impossible for me to have any special interests,” Tahseen says.

Win or lose, Tahseen says, he hopes to inspire young people to get involved in politics—and to vote. Turnout rates among 18- to 29-year-olds are historically low, especially for local elections. In Tahseen’s hometown of New York City, for example, less than 20 percent turned out for the recent mayoral election. That worries Tahseen, who says young people “have to make sure that we’re doing our best to set up our future.”

When young people run for office, they tend to seek positions at the local level. Those positions have fewer age restrictions. Candidates as young as 18 are accepted for many such jobs—on the school board, on city council, or even as mayor. Things are different at the federal level. Candidates must be at least 35 to serve as president, at least 30 to be a U.S. senator, and at least 25 to sit in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Plus, holding a local office gives teens a chance to affect policy on the issues they care most about. That includes education and the environment.

“A lot of important government activity happens at the local level,” says William Howell, a political science professor at the University of Chicago.

A desire to effect change is what motivated Tahseen Chowdhury to run for the state senate in New York. Tahseen is a 17-year-old senior at Stuyvesant High School in New York City. He’ll turn 18 before the Democratic primary this fall. He wants to institute a tuition assistance program for young undocumented immigrants who are struggling to pay for college.

Many voters believe that politicians are often tied to “special interests." This includes groups like corporations and unions that are pushing their own agendas. That gives being a young candidate an advantage. “I’m so young that it’s impossible for me to have any special interests,” Tahseen says.

Win or lose, Tahseen says, he hopes to inspire young people to get involved in politics—and to vote. Turnout rates among 18- to 29-year-olds are historically low, especially for local elections. In Tahseen’s hometown of New York City, for example, less than 20 percent turned out for the recent mayoral election. That worries Tahseen, who says young people “have to make sure that we’re doing our best to set up our future.”    

Age: 18 / Hometown: Wichita, Kansas / Running for: Governor of Kansas / Key cause: Fighting overreach by the federal government

Age: 18 / Hometown: Wichita, Kansas / Running for: Governor of Kansas / Key cause: Fighting overreach by the federal government

Young candidates have many things in common with their older counterparts, but a few things set them apart. One is the expertise they have in using social media as a campaign tool.

Ethan Randleas, a senior at Heights High School in Wichita who’s running as a Republican for governor of Kansas, hosts campaign events via Facebook Live. He also posts policy statements on Twitter—calling for, among other things, less overreach by the federal government—hashtagged with his slogan, #abetterkansas. Bushra posts photos of her young volunteers hard at work.

And although these young candidates are fighting for serious causes, they’re not sacrificing typical teen experiences. For Ethan, that means making time to play basketball and hang out with friends in Wichita. “I’m still being a normal kid,” he says. “I’m just also running for governor.”

Young candidates have many things in common with their older counterparts, but a few things set them apart. One is the expertise they have in using social media as a campaign tool.

Ethan Randleas, a senior at Heights High School in Wichita, is running as a Republican for governor of Kansas. He hosts campaign events via Facebook Live. He also posts policy statements on Twitter, hashtagged with his slogan, #abetterkansas. He’s called for, among other things, less overreach by the federal government. Bushra posts photos of her young volunteers hard at work.

These young candidates are fighting for serious causes. But they’re not sacrificing typical teen experiences. For Ethan, that means making time to play basketball and hang out with friends in Wichita. “I’m still being a normal kid,” he says. “I’m just also running for governor.”    

With reporting by Lucia De Stefani.

With reporting by Lucia De Stefani.