​AMY ESKIND is a freelance journalist with nearly four decades of experience. As a political reporter, she was startled by the fact that 40 percent of eligible voters sat out of the 2016 presidential election, leading her on a cross-country journey the following year to explore the phenomenon of non-voting. The reporter’s journey unveiled what lays beneath the disengagement, and it wasn’t voter apathy, as is widely assumed. A significant portion of young voters felt turned off by the political climate, swayed by misinformation, and convinced that their votes didn’t matter and that they were powerless to change anything. 

Driven by the fact that half of young adults refrained from voting in the 2020 elections, Eskind channeled her insights into a concise yet powerful book, Vote! A Guide for Young Adults just in time for the 2024 elections. It’s everything she has to say to young adults: individual votes do matter, even in “red” states and “blue” states, even in gerrymandered districts, and even when it feels like the federal government doesn’t accomplish much on their priority list. In a frank, conversational style, she aims to convince young adults that they have the power to elect a government that does work for them. In fact, she posits that young adults can sway elections – if they vote.

The guide answers questions and reacts to comments she heard from young adults on her reporting trip such as “Why does it matter so much if I vote? I’m only one person,” and “Seems like a lot of shouting. I’m not into politics,” and “I’ve heard my vote doesn’t matter because of the electoral college.”

Eskind has been focused on voter turnout since 2016. Her Los Angeles Times opinion piece, "Excited about the big voter turnout in the 2018 midterms? Don’t be," was translated into Spanish and distributed in syndication. Further, she has written opinion pieces for the Nashville Tennessean, the Houston Chronicle, and The Cap Times in Madison, Wisconsin, about elections and voter turnout. Her work has also appeared in People, the Washington Post, NPR, and other major media outlets.