WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Democratic National Committee on Tuesday rolled out what it is calling the largest partisan voter-registration drive in its history, a seven-figure national campaign aimed at mobilizing young and underrepresented voters in battleground states ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The initiative, branded When We Count, will train hundreds of young organizers to register tens of thousands of new Democratic voters, beginning in Arizona and Nevada, two states where shifting registration margins could decide control of the U.S. House.
The DNC said the effort marks a sharp strategic pivot, placing partisan voter registration at the center of its 2026 playbook after recent cycles saw Democrats lose ground among young voters and voters of color in key states.
“The midterms are here, and at the DNC, we refuse to let anybody else dictate this election season — we’re setting the tone,” said Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin. “Everywhere I go, young people tell me they want to be involved, want their voices heard, and want leaders who actually show up for them when it counts.”
The new program is designed to counter what Democrats describe as growing barriers to voting while also rebuilding the party’s grassroots organizing bench.
At the core of the campaign is the When We Count Youth Fellowship, a paid, part-time program that will recruit and train young supporters to register Democratic voters in targeted congressional districts. Fellows will receive weekly training from the DNC’s national organizing team and will be deployed to talk directly with peers in their communities.
The first cohorts, launching in the spring of 2026, will include more than 100 fellows across Arizona and Nevada, tasked with registering tens of thousands of new voters.
The DNC said the program is deliberately focused on non-college youth, a group that makes up nearly 60 percent of Americans ages 18 to 24 but has often been overlooked by traditional campus-based voter drives. Organizers will target young people where they live and work, rather than relying on universities as organizing hubs.
Arizona and Nevada were selected because both states feature fast-growing Latino, Black, and Asian American populations and because narrow registration margins in key congressional districts could swing House control in 2026.
In addition to the fellowship, the DNC will launch four National Voter Registration Weeks of Action in the spring, summer, and fall of 2026, deploying volunteers, state parties, youth organizations, and coordinated campaigns in a nationwide push to register new voters. The party plans to support those efforts with toolkits, training, merchandise, surrogates, and even state-by-state competitions designed to boost turnout and visibility.
Party officials said the investment is the largest single financial commitment the DNC has ever made to voter registration, laying the groundwork for scaling the effort nationwide in future election cycles.
“This program will identify, recruit, and train hundreds of young fellows, who will become the next generation of Democratic Party organizers,” the DNC said, describing it as both a voter-mobilization engine and a long-term leadership pipeline.
With control of Congress expected to hinge on razor-thin margins in 2026, Democrats are betting that registering and activating a new wave of young voters — especially those historically left out of the process — could reshape the battlefield before the first ballot is ever cast.
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