Central Valley Teen Is Family’s Only Vote — But Will She Cast a Ballot?

KQED.org California Report: Central Valley Teen Is Family’s Only Vote — But Will She Cast a Ballot?

“The way I feel is that in my household, Amy is our family’s voice. Because myself, I don’t have legal status, my parents don’t have legal status,” says Luis. “[We] depend on her, for our vote to count.”

“I’m pretty sure you’re registered to vote, ’cuz you turned 18 last year,” he says, looking at Amy across the table.

“Yeah, I did register to vote, when I got my California ID,” says Amy.

“And are you going to vote?” Luis asks.

“I don’t know,” laughs Amy. “I feel like sometimes my vote doesn’t count. Especially ’cuz right now, the generation is at a point where they don’t care. Most of us are not going to vote, we don’t care.”

We’ll check in with Luis, as well as Amy Huerta and other young eligible voters in Lindsay, over the coming months as part of our “California Counts” election collaboration with KPBS, KPCC and Capital Public Radio. The coverage focuses on major issues and solicits diverse voices on what’s important to the future of California.

also see: KQED.org California Report: What Makes a Person Vote (or Not)?

Read more at KQED's Election 2016