Whether reading the news or sitting in class, it can feel nearly impossible to imagine a future for American democracy where we are all included. It is easy to see politics as something reserved for the rich and powerful, a space where the voices of everyday people are heard but not truly listened to. I am writing this piece, admittedly following lots of encouragement from my mom, to share my experiences in political organizing this summer which challenged me to see our current moment, while sad and frightening, as an opportunity for action and the chance to build a country and world that we can all feel proud to call home.
At the end of last year, I, like so many of my peers, had no idea what I was going to do over the summer. After a year of feeling like the country was collapsing around me, while my peers and I were trapped in the Swarthmore bubble, I knew that I wanted to be on the ground, helping to fight the injustices perpetrated by the government and support the communities most impacted by them. Having spent many summers in high school knocking on doors, calling voters, and standing outside of the polls for campaigns, only to see democracy crumble in front of my eyes, I felt disillusioned and disempowered by the American political system. When I learned about the opportunity to serve as a senior fellow for Democracy Summer, I was hopeful that this could be a chance to find a space where I felt like I could make a difference amidst the chaos and help to empower others to do the same.
Founded by Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-08) in 2006, Democracy Summer works to inspire young people to get actively involved in political change. While it started small, it’s grown into a national program, with more than 140 partner campaigns and 2000+ participants this year. As one of five senior fellows in Congressman Raskin’s home district (MD-08), we welcomed and supported more than 120 fellows, ranging from sophomores in high school to seniors in college and coming from across District 8 and even from across the world.
During the packed six-week program, we held workshops focused on grassroots political organizing, heard from speakers including members of Raskin’s legislative team and employees of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), and attended national Democracy Summer seminars with speakers including Heather Cox Richardson and Senator Elizabeth Warren. As a fun addition to the program, the other senior fellows and I also worked throughout the summer to organize a mock election, engaging the fellows in presidential and vice-presidential debates, press conferences, town halls, and ranked-choice voting, all while they worked to build their campaign teams and create press organizations and interest groups that would report on and influence the election. The fellows’ campaign platforms and debates, on silly topics ranging from the abolition of the Oxford comma to whether or not ketchup is a smoothie, reflected their hopes for what politics can and should look like and their determination to create change.
Each weekend, the Democracy Summer fellows would pile into buses or carpool groups to travel to districts throughout Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania to support candidates aiming to win or hold onto Democratic seats. After a brief introduction to the candidate and their district, we would head off, knocking on doors and handing out literature to voters. For many of the fellows, this was their first time canvassing, and for many, it was also their first time in places like Maryland’s Eastern Shore, where candidate Dan Schwartz is working to oust longtime Republican Congressman Andy Harris or the more rural communities of Virginia’s District 7, where Congressman Eugene Vindman is running for his second term in a competitive district. Our “Raskin Army” braved 100 degree heat, rainstorms, and barking dogs to speak to voters about their hopes for their communities and educate them on the importance of their vote.
One of my favorite parts of the summer was being able to share my canvassing tips and tricks with fellows who had never been before, and to watch as, over the course of the summer, they grew more confident in their own abilities to engage with voters and navigate unfamiliar turfs. While often the number of voters who opened their doors was small, the quality of the conversations we had with those who did and the impact we made was large.
One of the conversations that will stick with me most was when a fellow and I talked to a woman who had never voted before. Research shows that she is not alone — in the 2024 presidential election, overall voter turnout of eligible voters was 63.7%. Among young voters (aged 18-29) the numbers are even graver — 47% of those eligible turned out to vote. Sitting on her front porch, she shared that while her husband votes in every election, she and her daughter had never voted and did not know where to go or how to fill out their ballot. We walked her through the process, expressing just how important her vote is and how meaningful it would be for her kids to see her voting. She told us about the importance of public education to her family, and how she wants a representative who will take this seriously. In the Maryland district where she lives, located just 90 minutes from Washington D.C., her eight-term Congressman has not held a town hall in more than three years. Just her one vote, even if it goes to support the incumbent, could have a lasting impact. It could show her kids the importance of civic engagement, help connect her with resources that might be beneficial for her family, and encourage them to become more involved and feel more invested in their community. The fellow and I walked away from our conversation with a new sense of the impact that we could make as young people engaged in politics, the empowerment that is possible through showing someone who may not have ever felt that there was a place for them in politics that they belong.
This summer also challenged me to recognize and embrace my own role in the political system. While I don’t hold aspirations to be a future politician (even the summer couldn’t change me that much … ), I better understand the importance of supporting and empowering those around me to create the communities they envision. Politicians and policymakers will play a role in building these futures, but so will community organizers, teachers, scientists, lawyers, parents, students, and all other types of ordinary people. The best leaders are everyday people coming from the same communities that they represent, understanding the concerns and committed to empowering them to make their hopes into realities.
The stories that I heard throughout the summer about Congressman Raskin, from him knocking on someone’s car window late at night to thank her for her bumper sticker supporting his campaign, to the conversations he has with his campaign team about his love for Bruce Springsteen and R.E.M., showed me that even with his growing national presence, Congressman Raskin is still committed to his community. We need leaders who stand strongly by what they believe an elected official’s duty is and where their priorities should lie — not with corporations or data companies, not with billionaires, and not with the governments of foreign nations — but with the people that they represent. We need candidates who will always put their communities first, and it is our job to support their work and hold them accountable, especially when it is challenging.
So, as I made the drive from District 8 to my home in Baltimore for the last time, I reflected on the summer and the impact that it will continue to have on me. As we see the decimation of essential federal services, the destruction of immigrant families and communities, and the newest acts of blatant corruption unfold before our eyes, it is hard to remain hopeful for the future of our country. It is so easy to fall into a cycle of disillusionment and apathy, of believing that your voice is powerless to change the systems working to upend all that we have ever known and loved about our country.
However, after spending my summer engaging with and fighting for what remains of American democracy, I can honestly say that I feel more hopeful than ever before. From seeing the joy and excitement of the fellows as they ran their first-ever presidential campaigns, to supporting them through the hurdles of their first (or second, or third … ) canvasses, I learned that democracy is not something easy to achieve or inevitable in our society, but something that must be hard fought-for. In the wise (and oft-repeated) words of Jamie Raskin, paraphrased from Tom Payne in The American Crisis, “Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered, but we have this saving consolation: the more difficult the struggle, the more glorious in the end will be our victory.” The work of Democracy Summer fellows reflects the idea that a representative and just democracy is possible, but only if we organize from the ground up in our communities, actually listen to perspectives unlike our own, and empower those who might not see a place for them in politics to make their voices heard.
So, if you take one thing away from this piece, it is that it is truly up to all of us to take action and to engage in the struggle, particularly this November when there is so much at stake. The midterm elections have the potential to completely change the direction that our country is headed, one in which democracy and our basic human rights are constantly at threat. All 235 House seats are up for election, along with 35 Senate seats, and studies show that there is a real chance that Democrats could regain the majority in at least one. If power shifted hands, important legislation, such as that which would restore provisions of the Affordable Care Act and stop the war in Iran, can finally be passed and crucially, Congress can block Donald Trump’s political appointees, preventing further efforts to destroy democracy.
There is increasing evidence that young people in particular will be the difference between two more years of autocracy or democracy. As someone who also felt disillusioned, not seeing a place for myself or my voice in fighting the injustices all around me, I understand the apprehension you might feel too. You might be wondering, can I really change anything?
I am here to tell you that you can, and that you must. It won’t be easy, but nothing worth fighting for is. The current moment requires all of us, literally all of us, to join together to fight for our shared values and democracy, to empower one another to build the future that we envision. This can be a very small time commitment — one that would even fit within a busy Swarthmore schedule — like registering to vote and then actually voting in the upcoming November general election. Or it might be a bigger or longer term commitment, like joining a protest against the Trump administration’s latest actions, volunteering with a group or nonprofit supporting communities impacted by them, and/or engaging in grassroots organizing through canvassing or phonebanking for campaigns working towards genuine representation and fighting for the issues that matter most to communities. What matters is getting involved and that you make your voice heard, in ways large and small, encouraging and empowering those around you to do the same.
So what can you do to engage with the fight?
1) Use your voice in democracy and vote! Whether you are registered in Pennsylvania or your home state, or not registered at all, Swarthmore Votes has resources that will help guide you through the process of voter registration, navigating the ballot, and getting to the polls on election day.
2) Support campaigns — on a local, state, and federal level! Campaigns are always looking for volunteers, and most would gratefully accept any time that you are able to give. You can canvass (knock on doors), or phonebank and textbank from the comfort of our own campus. Thinking locally, there are so many important races happening in Pennsylvania this fall that can use our support. If you would be interested in helping to organize canvassing/phonebanking on and off-campus for local campaigns, please reach out to me at lzavin1@swarthmore.edu.
3) Volunteer for local organizations working to support community members impacted by the Trump administration’s actions — examples in Philadelphia include Juntos, the Media Food Bank, Books Through Bars, and Project HOME.
4) Get to know your neighbors — isolation only fuels autocratic leadership, so one of the smallest but most effective ways that you can fight the injustices occurring is just to get to know those around you a little better, helping to make everyone feel that they are a part of our community.
Here are just a few of the important races in PA:
1) In PA-10, Janelle Stelson is running to oust longtime Republican Congressman Scott Perry, who she lost to by just 1% of the vote in 2024.
2) In PA-08, Paige Cognetti is running against incumbent Republican Congressman Rob
Bresnahan, who voted to strip millions of Americans of their Medicaid coverage.
Races not in PA, but still important to get involved in!
Michigan:
1) Will Lawrence, Swarthmore Class of 2015 (!) and cofounder of the Sunrise Movement, is running in Michigan’s 7th district to unseat Republican Tom Barrett.
2) Attorney Callie Barr is running to unseat Republican Jack Bergman in Michigan’s 1st district.
3) Physician and former Wayne County Health Director, Abdul El-Sayed is running for US Senate against Republican Mike Rogers.
Colorado:
1) State Representative Manny Rutinel, who is running for Congress in Colorado’s 8th district.
2) Jessica Killin, who is running for Congress in Colorado’s 5th district.
Texas: Texas State Representative James Talarico, who is running for US Senate.
New Mexico: James Vasquez, who is running for Congress in New Mexico’s 2nd district.
Maryland: Dan Schwartz, who is running to unseat Republican Congressman Andy Harris in Maryland’s 1st District.
Virginia: Eugene Vindman, running for his second Congressional term in Virginia’s 7th district.
