This week, Maniar saw Clinton speak again, this time at the Democratic National Convention, the first since Roe was overturned, where she鈥檚 volunteering and attending as a guest of .

She鈥檒l be flying straight from Chicago to Boston on Thursday and then moving into her freshman dorm at Harvard University Friday. She plans on studying  government, education and Spanish and continuing her work as a youth organizer.  She鈥檒l also be spending time in Boston Public Schools helping teach civics education and curriculum through Harvard Civics.

This election cycle, Maniar has been particularly motivated to collect signatures for an abortion amendment that will appear on the November ballot in her home state. If passed, Amendment 4 would establish a statewide constitutional right to abortion up until fetal viability, a major shift from Florida鈥檚 current law, which bans abortion after six weeks except in rare cases. 

Currently, related to abortion are certified for the 2024 general election, the most on record in a single year. Vice President Kamala Harris, now leading the Democratic ticket, is seen as a particularly and has already done much to win over Gen Z.

In an interview with 蜜桃影视, Maniar said she thinks these ballot measures can mobilize youth voters, who are feeling particularly energized both by the abortion issue and Harris鈥檚 campaign more broadly.  

鈥淚 think autonomy right now to young people means a lot, because 鈥� especially in this state 鈥� we know what it feels like to feel like you have none,鈥� she said. 

In late July, Harris spoke with Maniar鈥檚 peers when she made a virtual appearance at the Gen-Z-led Voters of Tomorrow summit.

鈥淲e need your support,鈥� Harris said. 鈥淚n this election we know young voters will be key, and we know your vote cannot be taken for granted. It must be earned. And that is exactly what we will do.鈥� 

Vice President knows she must earn our generation鈥檚 votes, and that is exactly what she will do.

鈥� Voters of Tomorrow (@VotersTomorrow)

Days before leaving for the convention where Harris will accept her history-making nomination, Maniar talked politics with 蜜桃影视鈥檚 Amanda Geduld.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

蜜桃影视: How did you first get involved with local politics and civic engagement?

Rhea Maniar: When I was 9, my parents took me to a Hillary Clinton rally in Sanford, Florida, in 2016, and they’ve never been the most politically involved people, but they saw that this election was really exciting because it was our first female nominee from the Democratic Party. And they took me in a shirt that said “Future President.” I think ever since that, I’ve just been hooked. 

I actually signed up to volunteer for Hillary Clinton on my own 鈥� after my bedtime 鈥� on my mom’s computer. I snuck in afterwards, and then they called my mom because I didn’t have a phone, so I just put her phone number, and they’re like, 鈥淐an we speak to Rhea Maniar?鈥� And she was like, 鈥淵ou can, but she’s like 9 and in bed.鈥� So I ended up phone banking at a neighbor’s house 鈥� and that was kind of my first foray into politics: Me and my mom phone banking together for 2016.

鈥� In 10th grade, I did the Florida Senate Page Program 鈥� and then I also met Rep. Anna Eskamani, who kind of became my biggest inspiration and mentor in this process. And she offered me an internship just as I was going into 10th grade, and that internship was life changing for me. It was my first experience on the legislative side.

鈥� That summer was also the summer that Roe v. Wade broke. So that was insane. I was a rising sophomore in high school. I couldn’t drive, but I was at the rallies, and I planned events all centered around really advocating for Roe v. Wade, and that summer was amazing. 

鈥� I spent the majority of my senior year really talking to adults and advocating for the fact that high schoolers are here, college students are here. We’re ready to get the vote out in 2024, but we need adults to really get us the resources.

You mentioned your experience with the Dobbs decision and your response to that. Can you walk me through that a little bit? Do you remember hearing about that decision for the first time, what your immediate response was and what you’ve done around that issue since?

Yeah, when it broke out 鈥� I think everyone at Rep. Eskamani’s office was just shocked, but we didn’t have any time to be shocked. It was time to get to work. 

So this meant we jumped into planning the rallies and the events and the speaker panels, and so it was crazy, because we didn’t expect such a large response from the Central Florida community. But sign-ups for our rally and our march were going out the door. So many people showed up. We didn’t know what to do. I think, like, three or 4,000 people showed up, literally, on that day. They just dropped what they were doing to come and we were so grateful for the fact, but also that was our first time really seeing, 鈥淥h my God. People who are not typically involved with these kinds of things are coming out in full force.鈥� There are so many civically engaged people here who this is their first kind of major protest, major rally, major movement. 

鈥�  And so since, we’ve been trying to capitalize on that type of energy, and I think that we’ve been really effective in the fact that abortion access affects everyone 鈥� even if you’re a man. I think for a lot of Floridians, this is definitely top-of-mind with the new ballot initiative. 

And so part of our job was explaining the ballot initiative and why it was so important in November to come out and vote 鈥� 

What made it so exciting to see this in 2024 is 鈥� we knew that abortion was literally the number one issue on top of Florida students’ minds 鈥� college students, especially 鈥� along with rent and housing and education. But abortion after Dobbs quickly rose to the top of that. 

鈥� The fact that voters will literally have the chance in November 2024 to actually speak their minds on this and make sure that their legislators actually represent them in their best interests, was something that I think is really powerful to a lot of Florida students, and it’s definitely something that we are trying our best to uplift and then make as obvious as possible. 

鈥� Whenever we did voter registration at schools, we would also have petitions for the 18-year-olds, just to make sure that we were really helping to get that ballot on the table and to pass the threshold.

So what will it mean for youth voters that this abortion ballot will be on the ticket this November?

I think it means a lot to youth voters, because with the combination of having such a powerful and energetic candidate at the top of the ballot 鈥� obviously Kamala Harris has greatly improved her numbers in polling amongst youth, especially in Florida 鈥� I think what that means is a higher chance of success for our down-ballot races, which are obviously just as important. 

Obviously, we have Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who is running against Rick Scott [both Tuesday in the U.S. Senate race]. We have a bunch of really competitive, flippable seats in [state] House districts and Senate districts that are literally right in colleges 鈥擴CF [University of Central Florida], FSU [Florida State University] and FAMU [ Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University] in Tallahassee 鈥� and so I hope, I am pretty sure 鈥� that the abortion amendment has done its job in that we’ve excited these voters, we’ve prepped them, we’ve informed them that so that they know that this year, abortion is on their ballot. 

And I think that in November, we’re going to see record-breaking 鈥� or at least higher 鈥� turnout amongst youth voters aged 18 to 29 than we ever have seen, because with the combination of abortion, weed [Florida ballot measure to ] and Kamala Harris, I think 鈥� and obviously massive outreach efforts on behalf of the Florida High School Democrats and the Florida College Democrats 鈥� I think all this combined is just a recipe for success, and I don’t really see it going any other way at this point. And I’m very glad I can say that.

When you’re tabling or giving out petitions, what are you hearing from young people about this ballot measure 鈥� and about the issue of abortion, more generally 鈥� within this political climate and then also within the context of the upcoming race?

I think in a world where our governor has made the decisions constantly for high schoolers 鈥� and we’ve kind of lost autonomy over that 鈥� over what our teachers can say in school, what books we can have in school, what’s being taught, what can we take 鈥� I think autonomy right now to young people means a lot, because especially in this state, we know what it feels like to feel like you have none. 

And so that’s why the abortion ballot initiative 鈥� and just in general 鈥� amendments 鈥� are so popular 鈥�

It sounds like this ballot measure brings a sense of empowerment to a population in Florida that 鈥� like you said 鈥� feels like their autonomy has been taken away. And I’m wondering, for young people in states that don’t have a ballot measure coming up in November that deals with this issue, what is your message to them?

鈥� My message to folks in states who are passionate about abortion, but don’t know where to start because they don’t have a ballot amendment, is, I’d always say, organize your community. There’s power in numbers. There’s power in voices. All you have to do is start speaking up, whether that’s planning events, whether that’s registering your friends to vote, and whether that’s calling and emailing your representative and knocking down their door. I would say anything helps.

Outside of abortion, what are other issues that you hear young people getting really excited about this election cycle?

I think especially in Florida, rent is a really, really big problem. And so many older folks will come up to me and be like, 鈥淥h, what issues matter to young people?鈥� And most of the time I’m like, 鈥淭he same issues that matter to you.鈥�

Young professionals are also looking for places to work, jobs and homes 鈥� We held a and that was top of mind. Property insurance is a massive deal here 鈥� especially to young people who are just getting on their feet, who have a college degree, who need a job and need rent help. Things have become so ridiculously unaffordable for everyone. 

The second priority was abortion. The third one was education, because obviously our public colleges have seen such a major shift with political ideology and the governor trying to get his hands into curriculum. The fourth one is usually always gun control 鈥� being the state of Pulse, being the state of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School [scenes of massive shootings in 2016 and 2018]. Especially to our high school students, who have lived high school every year, having to do active shooter drills every two months, I think this is a really top-of-mind issue. 

And Gen Z is one of the most diverse generations in history 鈥� racially, ethnically, ideology-wise 鈥� and we have a very large population of Gen Z who identifies [as] LGBTQ. And so I think the queer community here is also being very outspoken that their issues are also top of ballot, because Florida has done a very poor job with that. So those are probably top five.

So now a question about you: Will this November be your first election?

Yes, I’m actually old enough to do it in our August primary, so I just did that.

Amazing. And how did it feel to be a first-time voter?

It was so fun. I put the sticker on my computer. I took a picture. I wanted to memorialize this moment. After organizing around so many issues for so long, I felt really good to finally mark my name down on the ballot 鈥� and I’m really excited to vote in November.

Organizations like are working to equip Gen Z with the skills to differentiate between what鈥檚 real and what鈥檚 fake online. 

YVote was founded in New York City in 2017 out of concern for low youth voter turnout in the 2016 presidential election, when only of 18- to 29-year-olds nationwide cast a ballot. The organization is youth-centered and youth-led, with a core team of six that includes two high schoolers. The main facilitator is Mukilan Muthukumar, a senior at Hunter College High School. Since its launch, the organization has worked with over 1,500 students across 70 schools.

Kenisha Mahajan, a YVote alumna and lead facilitator, said that since the organization鈥檚 founding, it has expanded to civically engage young constituents beyond just voting. 鈥淎 lot of people on our team banded together and realized that young people need a lot more empowerment and uplifting and also this connection to resources if we’re actually going to get them out to the polls,鈥� Mahajan said.

Mahajan said the organization planned several sessions and activities for its annual, week-long Democracy Camp this month centered on media literacy, including icebreakers on current events, guided discussions on accessing information and trivia-style games on media bias.

鈥淔or young people that might be concerned about [artificial intelligence], we want to give them a platform to air out their concerns when it comes to what AI and media is looking like and talk about their experiences with it,鈥� she said.

Christine Li and Eloise Gordon are peer leaders for the organization. Li is a junior at Millennium Brooklyn High School and Gordon is a senior at West End Academy Secondary School in Manhattan. The high schoolers worked together this spring on a Civil Action Project with the organization about media literacy and misinformation, which they showcased to about 60 students from several schools, adult leaders from voting and human rights organizations and community members during a virtual presentation. They also worked with journalist , co-founder of RANTT Media, to record an of The Roundtable: A Next Generation Politics Podcast titled Media Literacy in a Maelstrom.

鈥淚 think the consensus within our group was that media literacy was very important for this time of AI, false information and the 2024 election,鈥� Li said. 鈥淎 lot of the young leaders in our fellowship were really alarmed by how much false information they were interacting with.鈥�

鈥淲hen you think about the advent of mis- and disinformation since [then-candidate Donald Trump’s] 2016 tweets 鈥� the obvious example I point to is the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, which were rooted in mis- and disinformation,鈥� Gordon said.

An analysis from The Brennan Center that Trump’s election-denial scheme that began in 2020, when he was president, is still impacting the voting process four years later. The organization cited the increase in threats and harassment of and restrictive across the country that disproportionately impact voters of color as byproducts of those efforts to overturn the results of the election.

As part of their project, Li, Gordon and other high schoolers brainstormed ways to combat falling for fake information online. One strategy the group implemented is the SIFT method, created by digital literacy expert and research scientist . SIFT stands for: Stop, Investigate the source, Find better coverage and Trace claims. Li said it鈥檚 a simple yet effective way to find biases and connect to original sources.

Another strategy Gordon said they promoted for detecting AI images is focusing on people’s hands, as artificial intelligence doesn鈥檛 have fingers and other small details like teeth figured out. In March, a fake of Trump being arrested circulated online. One of the biggest signs that it was bogus was the hands of Trump and the police officers in the image.

The group also discussed social media echo chambers and how easy it is to fall into a cycle of interacting only with information you agree with.

鈥淲e are really limited in our ideas, especially by algorithms and the conversations we have 鈥� I think if we really want to use social media for good, it’s really important that we seek out these new opinions and ideas,鈥� Li said.

For Gordon, Facebook is the most concerning social media app when it comes to fake news being shared widely, 鈥渟pecifically on the news feed section of the Facebook app. We discussed as a group that the idea of a customized news feed inherently sounds flawed because news obviously isn’t customizable.鈥�

Facebook has been several times over its content, and in 2021, founder Mark Zuckerberg said posts with misinformation about COVID had been removed from the site.

As for Li, she said she believes Trump鈥檚 Truth Social app is the most dangerous for mis- and disinformation.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a breeding ground for bias and misinformation because it’s not really fully developed. I think other apps do a much better job with regulating content and having fact checkers,鈥� she said.

Aside from the Civic Action Projects, YVote has initiatives like training youth on canvassing for voter registration and participatory budgeting. The organization won first place and $20,000 in a 2021 citywide budgeting campaign to create community gardens at underfunded public schools.

During the organization鈥檚 summer camp, NYC teens are guided to envision what democracy looks like to them and are taught skills necessary to create it. They learn about the history of American democracy, craft proposals on specific issues they鈥檇 like to tackle and are encouraged to continue what they鈥檝e learned by creating a research project during the school year. Though students don鈥檛 receive extra credit at school, those who participate will qualify for Certificates of Activist Excellence and/or Civic Leadership.

The organization also offers a year-long program called the Change Makers Institute, where facilitators aged 17 to 24 lead high school students in monthly virtual sessions to learn about voting and advocacy. They train students on reading news headlines and how to point out ones that may be fake, disreputable or skewed to the left or right politically.

In addition, the organization encourages young people to explore topics they鈥檙e passionate about, such as mass incarceration and school segregation and teaches them how voting can impact these issues.

In April, YVote launched Youth Civic Hub, a one-stop shop for New York City youth to learn where and how to vote, find out who is running for office in their area and get information on civic organizations that they may want to get involved in. The hub is run by a team of seven, six of them college students. 

The offers a civics glossary to break down common terms and an interactive map that allows voters to enter their neighborhood and see which politicians represent their area and what authority they have. The hub also features a directory of nearby organizations, an election portal that can help young people register to vote and an opportunities board for those who want to get involved beyond voting.

鈥淭his Supreme Court does not represent Gen Z or the future we imagine for our country,鈥� , the youth-led organization behind the protest, wrote in a press release signed by several other youth-powered groups including and the . 

鈥淵oung people are appalled and horrified by the leaked Supreme Court decision to strip all people who can become pregnant of their basic right to choose.鈥�

Hundreds of youth activists rallied outside the U.S. Supreme Court Thursday evening denouncing the leaked majority opinion set to overturn the landmark 1973 decision, which guarantees federal constitutional protection of abortion rights. More protests are planned in cities across the country in the coming weeks, organizers said.

Eve Levenson, who emceed the Thursday event and is a senior at George Washington University, said the rally was meant to send a message to elected officials.

鈥淚t was really about making it clear to those in power 鈥� how much Generation Z cares about this issue,鈥� she told 蜜桃影视.

Generation Z includes individuals roughly born between 1997 to 2012, or those currently ages 10 to 25. A majority of abortion patients nationwide are , and 37% are 24 or younger.

Organizers estimate that there may have been nearly 1,000 young protesters outside the Supreme Court, Levenson said, some who traveled from as far as New York state. Another 40,000 viewers watched the stream on Twitter and 80,000 watched on TikTok. Many youth who could not make the trek to the nation鈥檚 capital are now planning their own local demonstrations, she said.

The rally was 鈥�100% Gen Z led,鈥� Levenson explained, including many high school-age organizers. On the evening of May 2, when the leaked draft majority opinion published by revealed that the Supreme Court appears poised to reverse Roe, her group chat of youth organizers exploded, she said. Someone suggested the idea of a rally in front of the Supreme Court and 鈥渋t kind of just came together really quickly from there,鈥� said the college senior.

鈥淲e all felt so galvanized,鈥� added Levenson. 鈥淸Young people] are for bodily autonomy, we are for access to abortion, we are for reproductive health care and people are really pissed off to see those things taken away.鈥�

Speaker Soraya Bata, a student at Georgetown University, pointed out that over a dozen states have trigger laws set to immediately ban abortions should Roe fall. Her home state of Florida in April passed a law banning the medical procedures just 15 weeks into pregnancy, replacing a previous rule that allowed abortions within the first 24 weeks. States including Oklahoma and Texas have recently passed similar restrictions.

鈥淪ome people won’t even know that they are pregnant at that stage,鈥� said the young leader. 鈥淭hese laws mean that the only people who will have access to abortions are wealthy Americans who can afford to travel out of state.鈥�

Nearly half, 49%, of those who had abortions in 2014, the most recent year for which data are available, were . Another 26% made less than twice the level, meaning 3 in 4 people seeking abortions had little, if any, disposable income.

Addressing the crowd Thursday, Sofia Ongele, a youth activist with , took aim at the underlying logic put forward in the leaked Supreme Court draft.

鈥淛ustice Alito鈥檚 core argument is that abortion is 鈥榥ot deeply rooted in this nation鈥檚 history and traditions,鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淥ur nation鈥檚 history is marked by genocide, slavery [and] classism. 鈥� We owe it to our ancestors to fight for a better world than they had.鈥�

Contraception, the young speaker explained, saved her life. In 2018, she received an emergency blood transfusion after her periods caused extreme anemia. Since then, she has used hormonal birth control to regulate her cycle.

鈥淭o stay alive, I had to have complete control over my body,鈥� said Ongele. 鈥淪hould anyone infringe on those rights, my health and safety would immediately be threatened.鈥�

Though many of the organizations behind the rally self-identify as nonpartisan, several speakers implied there would be political ramifications for officials who oppose policy measures to protect reproductive rights, along with other issues such as addressing climate change, LBGTQ rights and health equity. The young protesters were by Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, who 鈥嬧�媔s running for re-election in a Georgia race that could determine whether Democrats maintain control of the Senate.

鈥淥ur politicians work for us,鈥� said Melissa Altschiller, an organizer with March for Our Lives. 鈥淚f they continue to make decisions about our bodies, we will continue to make decisions about their jobs.鈥�

Roughly two-thirds of 18- to 24-year old voters in the 2020 presidential election voted for Joe Biden, NBC revealed 鈥� 11 percentage points more than any other age group. Between Generation Z and Millennials, who on many social issues, are eligible to vote in the 2022 election cycle.聽

鈥淚 think we鈥檙e going to see young people continuing to organize around this going forward,鈥� said Levenson.