Get on the Bus

There’s an old saying that goes “Of the people, by the people, for the people.” In essence, it means that our government is ultimately responsible to us, and we are responsible for guiding it. Part of that means having people in office who reflect our issues, and who pass laws that make our lives better. Basic, right? But that’s not always how it goes down – so how do we get there from here?

That’s exactly where the Bus comes in. We don’t give young people a voice – young people have a voice. We simply provide a platform to ensure that our voice is heard. Democracy works best when the most people participate, and we’re here to make sure that our generation isn’t left out of the mix.

And you better believe we're mixing it up -

• Trick or Vote is the nation's largest get-out-the-vote Halloween costumed canvass. In 2009, we knocked on over 8,700 doors in Seattle and over 10,000 across Washington State. And guess what? We even won an award for it - Politics Magazine gave Trick or Vote the Reed Award for best get-out-the-vote plan and execution. Nice!
• Our Washington Bus Fellowship program has trained dozens of young people on campaign and organizing skills, and injects their energy and smarts directly into Washington politics.
• Bus Trips provide a blast of energy for forward-thinking candidates and complement the work campaigns are already doing on the ground. During the summer and fall, we load up our beautiful 1989 MCI coach with volunteers and knock on doors all across Washington.
• 2009 and 2011's Candidate Survivor were the largest candidate forums in Seattle...ever. Over 700 young people came together to watch and vote on Seattle City Council candidates.

Washington Bus, Candidate Survivor from Rogue Scholar on Vimeo.

• Since 2007, we've been shaking things up at our neighborhood Capitol Hill Block Party, handing out popsicles and getting thousands of young people to register to vote and pledge to vote.