ST. GABRIEL - A group of women are working to encourage young people to vote by holding voter registration events to show first-time voters that their voice matters. 

"I want the youth to know that they should get involved and get involved early. Because their voice matters and they are our future," Social Action Chair of Tri-Parish Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated Erica Joseph said. 

Sorority members worked with Pumps to the Polls to put on the 'Get Pumped to Vote' event Sunday. The women said they wanted to meet the youth in the middle and host a fun-filled event to bring them in. 

"We don't know what they feel if they don't vote. We have to make sure that they understand their vote matters and it's very important for us to know what they stand on for issues," Pumps to the Polls founder Sherie Thomas said.

In Louisiana, less than half of registered voters aged 18 to 29 cast a ballot, according to CIRCLE. Thomas says she's heard many people in that age range tell her they won't be voting in the 2024 election.

Members of each organization say this has been a team effort in making sure that an increase in voter turnout is seen. Not only for national elections, but also for state and local. 

"We're just concerned about getting people registered to vote. Then, we want to actually get them mobilized to vote and we want to educate them about the importance of voting," Joseph said. 

"Sometimes people don't vote because they don't know what their voting for or who they're voting for. So we try to educate them on the actual issues on candidate forms as well as putting information out there about the candidates and where they can find it," Thomas said.

They also encourage voters to request their absentee ballots if they are not able to make it to the polls and plan to hold more voting events as it gets closer to election day.