An effort to get more young people to vote in upcoming Jacksonville elections got off to a sudsy start last night. Jacksonville brewery Intuition Ale Works opened its doors to hundreds of attendees of the Jacksonville Young Voters Coalition’s first event, Ballots & Brews. Coalition Founder Meredith O’Malley Johnson says 18- to 40-year-olds haven’t historically turned out to city elections in high numbers.
“So we just wanted to get people excited about voting again, make sure they understand, you know, that their vote really matters especially on the local level," Johnson said.
At the brewery event, potential young voters got the chance to talk with candidates running for mayor, sheriff and city council in an informal setting. The Jax Young Voters Coalition is a nonpartisan group that started last month. Its goal is to increase the youth vote by at least 5 percent in this year’s election.
