Bite the Ballot, the national campaign encouraging more young people to vote, has appointed a new. Community Engagement Officer for Nottingham in partnership with the City Council.

For the next six months, Rachel Armitage will be busy educating, engaging and empowering 16-24 year olds in the city so they can influence the decisions that affect their lives.

Rachel is the tenth young person to join Bite The Ballot’s CEO programme, which places inspirational individuals in local councils to create a national network of youth engagement. Her key focus at the moment is on registering young people to vote in advance of the General Election on 7 May.

She says: “Many young people feel switched off from politics, but by registering to vote they can make sure that their voice is heard.  The more 16-24 year olds who stand up and take power, the more the system will start to work with us rather than against us.”

Over the coming weeks, Rachel plans to deliver events including a series of Democracy Cafes where young people can trial ‘Verto’, Bite The Ballot’s new online voter advice tool. She will also be running voter registration sessions with local educational institutions and community groups.

If you would like to find out more about the work that Rachel is doing in the city, email her at nottingham@bitetheballot.co.uk.