These high school seniors want to replace ‘spiteful rhetoric’ with polite debate

Sahaj Singh and Cameron Waltz want more people to vote, but when the midterm elections take place on Nov. 6, they can’t cast ballots.

That’s because at 17, the two voter registration advocates aren’t old enough to vote. But that hasn’t kept these friends from mobilizing a voter registration effort.

“It is a very funny irony,” Waltz said, adding that just because they can’t vote doesn’t mean they won’t make a difference.

The Carroll Senior High School students are helping dozens of young people register to vote on two fronts — as part of a school club called, Little America, and through a political action committee, or super PAC, they created to promote civil political discourse off campus.

BackPAC is a non-partisan political action committee that touts the motto: “Education. Engagement. Reform.”

Since the two seniors filed organization papers with the Federal Election Commission in August 2017, BackPAC has grown to include about 2,000 members in 15 states, including Florida, New Jersey and Illinois.

High school students in Austin, College Station, Dallas and Houston have also started branches under the BackPAC umbrella, Singh said.

The branches have registered more than 500 voters with about 100 of those being from Carroll Senior High.

“Democracy is a process rooted in collaboration on the societal level, and I think voter registration allows us as individuals to feel that sense of community” Singh said. “When my generation reaches 18, without youth civic engagement, we’ll be stuck in a world that doesn’t reflect our values and ideas. Political participation truly is necessary if you want to be part of American society.”

Political action 101

In the summer of 2016, the nation was in the thick of a presidential election season. Battle lines were drawn between supporters of then-GOP candidate Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton. Singh said he noticed a political weariness in the country. People didn’t take part in polite debate. People didn’t seem driven to vote. People were disillusioned.

Singh said he saw a divided United States taking part in “spiteful rhetoric.”

Singh asked himself, “What are the reasons why politics are so polarized?” After some research, Singh blamed the super PAC.

A super PAC is a type of political action committee that is able to raise large amounts of dollars. Those dollars in turn often pay for political advertisements in local, state and federal elections.

Singh also wondered if a super PAC could be used to bring people together instead of driving them apart.

That’s how Singh and Waltz, members of Southlake Carroll’s debate team, came to form and operate their political action committee. The teens got some help from Singh’s mother to file paperwork to establish their political action committee.

Singh and Waltz maintain a website for the organization. They said they continue to fine tune and expand their efforts by offering non-partisan information about elections and offering non-partisan reports on campaigns.

The students don’t solicit donation on campus or at any school activities, Waltz said.

In a report filed with the FEC in July, BackPAC had $790.41 between April through June. It spent $583.42 so it had $206.99 cash on hand at the end of the reporting period.

Singh said their political action committee’s strength isn’t measured in dollars, but in the volunteer time spent by teens.

“The currency we need is time and commitment,” Singh said.

‘Our small part of America’

When Singh and Waltz are on campus, they hold voter registration activities through a school club called Little America.

Waltz said Little America is officially registered as a club at Carroll Senior High and does not rely on BackPAC funds for expenses, he said.

Through Little America, they carry out voter registration at the school and any school activities and discussions they host, Waltz said.

The club’s name alludes to the teens’ mission.

“The name is just kinda what the club was meant to be,” explained Waltz in a text message. “Our small part of America that was working towards better discourse and democracy.”

Principal Shawn Duhon said Singh and Waltz set up a voter registration table in the school cafeteria once a week.

“They are making a difference in getting the word out to our student body,” Duhon said, adding that they have helped register some teachers too.

Like other Texas high schools, the campus has deputy voter registrars. At Southlake Carroll, English teacher Barbara Milhizer has that title and works closely with Singh and Waltz.

“They have been really, really engaged in bringing people, especially young people, into the process,” Milhizer said, adding:

“They are not about pushing an agenda. They are about finding a way forward.”