At ‘Give Us a Ballot’ march, Philadelphia students lead the fight for their futures

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Messiah Stokes isn’t afraid of being told he’s too young to make a difference. The Lankenau High School senior was one of hundreds at PA Youth Vote’s annual “Give Us a Ballot” march.

“Throughout history, it’s always been the youth who stepped up, and they’re the ones who are being affected the most,” he said.

Students from more than a dozen Philadelphia high schools marched from LOVE Park to City Hall, carrying signs, chanting and encouraging their peers to vote in the upcoming midterm elections. PA Youth Vote, a nonpartisan coalition of students, educators and community members, organized the march in partnership with the School District of Philadelphia.

Stokes and other students used the march to continue protests against the district’s facilities plan, which will close or merge 17 Philadelphia schools, with changes set to begin as early as next school year.

“Shutting down the school doesn’t just mean shutting down a place for them to go to,” Stokes said. “They’re going to be missing out on the bonds they had between students, their teachers, that feeling of a home.”

Lankenau is one of the schools set to close, and Stokes has been active in efforts to prevent it. He’s attended and spoken at board meetings, and says his peers are “afraid for their futures.”

Though Stokes isn’t eligible to vote until next year, he urges other young people to exercise their constitutional rights.

“No matter what, the older generation cannot frame our future,” he told the crowd. “We need to learn from them, look at their mistakes and [do better].”

The event featured student performances, speeches and voter registration resources, including information about early voting. It comes as young people are expected to play a significant role in the November midterms. According to The Civics Center, young Pennsylvanians could have a greater presence at the polls this year. As of September 2026, 27% of the state’s 18-year-olds were registered to vote, up from 21% at the same point in 2022.

Aisha Yansane, a student at Parkway Northwest High School, another school set to close, said it feels “powerful” to be attending the march and hopes that students can make “a really big change just by being here and showing up”.

For Faustine Gultom, a student at Thomas Jefferson University, the march brought back memories of her own time as a high schooler, when she felt too shy to speak up.

“Seeing them here, feeling empowered and willing to speak up is really empowering,” she said.

As she prepares to cast her ballot, she said she is thinking about young people who are not yet eligible to vote or who feel their opinions do not matter.

Gultom said the march inspires young people to vote because “they know that they have the strength and their opinion matters. They can step into [those] polls and vote.”

Shaquita Smith, a social studies curriculum specialist with the school district, hopes that voting can become a “joyful habit” for young people. For her, the event is representative of how peer to peer encouragement can incentivize young people to take action.

“This is what democracy is about and they are really putting that in play,” she said.

Faridah Ismaila, a PA Youth Vote ambassador, said the march gives students an opportunity to make their voices heard and support the issues that matter most to them. For her, having a variety of schools and students is a valuable part of that experience.

“Everybody has the same belief that teenagers should voice their opinions, but there’s a sense of individuality where everybody can represent an [issue] that matters to them most,” she said.

For Maya Izzard, a senior at the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, the march was an opportunity to emphasize what young people want to protect and what they believe their country can still become. Speaking to the crowd at City Hall, Izzard said she has “found her reason to care” about America.

“I see youth who do care, youth who will fight for the America that fulfills its promises. I care about honesty, I care about our rights, I care about our voices, I care about our teachers,” she said. “I care about America because I believe it can be better.”

Voters can find their polling place for the Nov. 3 election using the state’s official lookup tool. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Editor’s Note: This story is part of a series on Youth Civic Engagement funded by the William Penn Foundation. WHYY News produces independent, fact-based news content for audiences in Greater Philadelphia, Delaware and South Jersey.