Voter Activation Lab (VAL) creates experiences for first-time voters that make voting fun and easy. As a nonpartisan nonprofit organization, we help young people go from their first vote to “I’m a voter” – building a habit that lasts a lifetime.
Our signature program, VoterFest, turns voting into a campus celebration that brings voting into the center of student life. Music, food, friends, and on‑the‑spot voting — all in one place.
Our founder, Audrey Shen, is a behavior analyst with 25+ years of experience, who understands people and what it takes to get them engaged to take action. She and her team use science to shake up typical voting activities from being a ho-hum experience to being a can’t miss opportunity for community and civic engagement.
VAL experiences remove barriers, eliminate obstacles, and make voting easy, fun, and something students do together.
Of unregistered young voters in 2024, 12% had no idea how to register.
Nearly a third said they wanted to vote but ran out of time or missed key steps.
Almost half received zero outreach about how or where to vote.
This isn’t apathy.
It’s a reachability and systems problem. And it matters because voting is habit‑forming: when students vote in their first eligible election, they’re far more likely to become lifelong voters. That first experience shapes not only future behavior, but identity: whether someone sees themselves as “a voter” or not. When that first opportunity is missed, the opposite pattern often emerges—participation becomes less likely over time.
From New Voters to Lifelong Voters — Your Investment Makes It Happen.
Together, we can make voting the thing students do now – and for life.
Join us in activating first‑time voters and keeping them voting for life. Students, partners, businesses, supporters, community members — you make this happen.
Voter Activation Lab is where lifelong voters are made — not lost.
That’s why VAL makes voting easy, social, and impossible to miss.