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A teenager took advantage of Popeyes' long chicken sandwich lines by registering people to vote

via dllegrande / Instagram

Earlier this month, Cajun fried-chicken restaurant Popeyes rolled out its first nationwide chicken sandwich, and it kicked off a heated debate on social media: Which chicken sandwich is better, Popeyes or Chick-fil-A?

The sandwich is getting rave reviews for its large friend chicken breast, brioche bun, and two pickles.

People have been flocking to Popeyes to find out for themselves and many are experiencing long lines or can't get the sandwich because its sold out.

While the folks at Popeyes are obviously seeing dollar signs, 17-year-old David Ledbetter saw it as an opportunity to create social change.

On Saturday, Ledbetter took advantage of the long lines at a Popeyes in Charlotte, North Carolina by asking people to register to vote as they waited. According to reports, he was able to register 16 people.

RELATED: 7 secrets to raising awesome, functional teenagers

"I decided to register people to vote after I saw there was a lack of young people politically involved," Ledbetter told CNN. "I believe that it is our duty to vote as American citizens and it would be wrong not to exercise our political voice."

Ledbetter came up with the idea after talking with Stephanie Sneed, an attorney running for a position on the local school board.

RELATED: NRA lobbyist asking how to tell a 10-year-old she can't have her pink assault rifle is peak NRA

"Because he's young, he has a new perspective on candidates engaging with young people," Sneed said. "He's already engaged and it's in his makeup."

"I like engaging with the community and I have aspirations with helping people and making society better as a whole," Ledbetter said.

"Hi, I just wanted to urge you to resign because of what you're doing to the environment and our country."

Teacher Kristin Mink didn't hold back when confronting Scott Pruitt, the controversial head of the Environmental Protection Agency. When she saw him eating lunch at a Washington, D.C., restaurant, she knew she had to say something. She just didn't know what.

Then it hit her: "His actions are the source of so much of my despair for my child's future and frankly the future of humanity," Mink wrote to Splinter afterward. She decided to make it personal.

Mink walked up to Pruitt and introduced her toddler son — just so Pruitt would know whose future he was affecting.

"This is my son. He loves animals. He loves clean air. He loves clean water. Meanwhile, you're slashing strong fuel standards for cars and trucks for the benefit of big corporations," Mink said as Pruitt's face dropped into a deep and nervous frown.

"We deserve to have somebody at the EPA who actually does protect our environment, somebody who believes in climate change and takes it seriously for the benefit of all of us, including our children," Mink continued.

And then she repeated her first request: "So, I would urge you to resign before your scandals push you out."

That's when, according to Mink, Pruitt rushed from the restaurant, his security detail in tow.

Protecting our environmental future is more important than ever.

Pruitt, a Donald Trump appointee, has been courting controversy since he arrived at the EPA. While only there a short time, he's already begun to undo over 20 Obama-era regulations. He has made himself the final authority on The Clean Water Act, is rolling back emissions regulations for cars and trucks, and is revising fuel efficiency standards, taking away incentives for cleaner cars with a lower carbon footprint.

That's nothing to say of Pruitt's questionable conduct: Since being in the role, he's refused to let his schedule be known to the public, demanded a 24-hour-security detail (a cost of $3 million a year), and built a soundproof phone booth (which cost upward of $43,000). Other ethical concerns include that Pruitt hired his own banker to run the Superfund program and is allowing EPA employees to moonlight as political consultants.

We should be worried. And, like Mink, we should speak out whenever and wherever we can.

It's easy to forget that public servants don't work for themselves: They work for the public. It's incumbent on us to push back and speak out when their policies and actions are corrupt.

"Our children's future is at stake," the end of Mink's video states. "As citizens, it is our responsibility to confront corrupt, unethical, and immoral government officials whenever and wherever we see them."

She's using her voice. We should all raise our own. Elections are coming. Are you registered to vote?

With confirmation fast approaching, Democrats need to pick up one more vote against DeVos.

At noon on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017, the U.S. Senate will vote on President Donald Trump's secretary of Education nominee.

This is normal. What's happening in the 24 hours leading up to the vote, on the other hand, is not normal at all.

In an effort to win over one of their Republican colleagues, Senate Democrats are pulling an all-night filibuster as they take turns making the case against Betsy DeVos, Trump's choice to head the Department of Education. For 24 hours, Democrats plan to hold the floor in the run-up to a vote that may very well determine the future of America's public education system.

DeVos speaks during her confirmation hearing on Jan. 17, 2017. Photo by Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images.

Two Republicans have already indicated plans to vote against DeVos. It'll take at least one more vote to tip the scales.

Last week, Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) came forward to announce that they would not vote to confirm DeVos. With the 46 Democrats, two Independents, and now two Republicans lining up against DeVos, it looks like there are 50 votes for confirmation and 50 votes against.

Should the vote end up being a tie, Vice President Mike Pence has indicated that he will cast a tie-breaking vote to confirm DeVos as the next Education secretary.

There are a number of reasons to oppose DeVos' nomination that should have people on both sides of the aisle feeling a bit nervous.

For one, DeVos has never attended or worked in a public school, her children have all gone to private schools, and she has no experience working in government or education. There's also the fact that she's a proponent of shifting tax dollars from public schools to charter programs in an effort to "advance God's kingdom" through the education system.

And finally, there's the simple matter of her nomination being "pay-to-play" politics at its absolute worst. DeVos and her family have donated more than $200 million to Republicans through the years. In 1997, she even wrote, "I have decided to stop taking offense at the suggestion that we are buying influence. ... We do expect something in return. We expect to foster a conservative governing philosophy consisting of limited government and respect for traditional American virtues. We expect a return on our investment."

Additionally, DeVos had a pretty disastrous confirmation hearing in which she suggested that guns in schools might be a good idea because of bears, showed ignorance about a federal disability law, dodged questions about protecting LGBTQ students and victims of sexual assault, and made it abundantly clear why her confirmation appears to be the one cabinet nomination that may not meet the required 51-vote threshold.

So far, the filibuster is off to a strong start, as Democratic senators implore their colleagues to prioritize the welfare of America's students over party lines.

No matter how this vote goes, it's good to see the Senate living up to its potential as one of the world's great deliberative bodies.

If there's a case to be made against (or for) DeVos, it will most certainly be made between now and tomorrow's vote. The exchange of ideas and action that follows is democracy in action.

It's even better to know that elected officials take into account what constituents think. Sen. Murkowski indicated that her decision to vote "no" was influenced by "thousands of Alaskans who have shared their concerns about Mrs. DeVos as Secretary of Education, by phone, in person, by email and through petition."

Between now and when the Senate votes on DeVos, there's still time for constituents to take action — whether it's calling their senators to thank them for their vote against DeVos or trying to convince them to change their minds.

If you're interested in calling but aren't sure what to say? No worries. 5 Calls is a great resource for calling your elected officials on any topic.

Watch the 24-hour action from the Senate floor filibuster here:

Muna Hussaini walked into her polling station near Austin, Texas, with her daughter on Election Day. Her excitement was weighed down by fear.

Now a mother of two, Hussaini was born and raised in the United States to immigrant parents from India. But as a Muslim woman who wears hijab, she's seen firsthand the angry and xenophobic rhetoric that still plagues this country. Sometimes, she still feels unsafe in her rightful home.

"This election has wreaked havoc on our family as Muslims, who have continued to look on in horror as women, Latinos, Blacks, gays ... so many have been denigrated," she confessed in a private post to tens of thousands of strangers in Pantsuit Nation, a secret Facebook group. (Her post is shared here with permission.)

"These people and their views will still be here after the election. And who will now be walking around with a target on their back?"

Photo by Muna Hussaini, used with permission.

Hussaini watched her 8-year-old daughter press the buttons in the voting booth. She cried.

"Is it true, Mom, do Obama and Hillary think it's OK for two men to marry each other?" her daughter asked. "That's what one kid said at school today and why I should vote for Trump."

Hussaini replied: "Baby, what if tomorrow someone said we can't eat meat because it's against their religious beliefs?"

Her daughter paused to process the thought before agreeing that it wouldn't be fair.

"That's right, sweet love," Hussaini said. "That's the beauty of democracy in the USA. No one's religion gets to be more important than other people's beliefs. That's called separation of church and state. And you can't pick and choose, otherwise tomorrow, someone will get to tell Mommy to take her scarf off. If two dads want to marry, we have to fight for their right to do so. We have to show up and vote."

Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images.

Tuesday morning was full of hope and inspiration for the Hussaini family. But the next day, they woke up to an opposite feeling.

Like many parents, Hussaini tries not to push too many worldviews on her daughter. But on Wednesday morning after Election Day, that was simply unavoidable.

Her daughter was terrified of being kicked out of the country she was born in, with an impenetrable wall between her and her friends. She asked, in detail, questions about passports, contingencies, and travel plans and whether it was even safe for her to go school.

Hussaini did her best to explain how the government works — that there's a Constitution and three separate branches with a system of checks and balances built in to make sure no one has too much power.

She told her daughter, "We want to be positive, because as Americans, we believe in our laws and [that] people are generally good" — even though, she noted, she wasn't even sure if she believed those words herself.

But sometimes, she said, you need to believe in something, even if it's just to hearing yourself say it. Sometimes that's what it takes to get by.

Photo by Andrew Biraj/AFP/Getty Images.

"What would be helpful [now] is knowing I'm not alone," Hussaini told me. "That if hate comes out in full force that I can keep my family safe."

"I'm an American citizen, born and raised, and I don't feel safe or comfortable. I don't know when my rights are going to be infringed upon and if they will, what I am supposed to do.

I want to know that my freedom of religion is covered.

I want to know that my freedom of speech is still safe.

I want to know that America is still for me."

Lawyers' Committee

Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights

'I'm going to keep standing up.'

For people who saw Hillary Clinton as a much needed step forward for equality in this country, this week's loss was devastating.

When the 2016 presidential election results came in around 3 a.m. Eastern time on Nov. 9, many people were hit with waves of emotion as this dramatic election cycle came to a close.

What would come next for America?

Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.

Today, many people are grieving. But if you look around you, you'll also see people doing something remarkable: They aren't giving up.

Many folks have taken to social media to share beautiful and heart-wrenching but above all actionable words of resolve this week. These are people who still believe we're "stronger together," and they are standing tall. They're showing the nation that we will not be pushed down so easily.

So if you're feeling scared or angry or confused or sad, that's OK. It's important to take time to process the blow. But then, stand back up. The fight is not over. In fact, it's only just begun.

Here are five messages from fellow supporters that might help you get there:

1. This woman is feeling more resolved then ever to keep fighting.

"This hurts like hell, but I'm not giving up and I'm not going anywhere and I'm not going to be quiet. I'm staying right here in this goddamned country and I'm going to keep on standing up and speaking out and fighting even harder for our friends and neighbors and all people who don't feel like they have a voice, who deserve respect, who need love and support, who need to know that they're not going to be abandoned. Photo via libbyvanderploeg/Instagram, used with permission.

2. Another is trying to help others while simultaneously looking out for her own mental health.

3. And, in the midst of fearing for this country, this man wants everyone to know he's first and foremost an ally.

4. Christina learned words of hope and action can come to us in many ways. Even via text.

5. And, in the face of feeling like "them" again, this Middle-Eastern American man simply asks others to have empathy.

Emotions only take us so far. In the coming weeks, action is the next step.

As Clinton said in her concession speech, "This loss hurts. But please never stop believing that fighting for what’s right is worth it."

It's not going to be easy, but we're not doing this alone.

Lawyers' Committee

Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights

Most parents agree that our children are our future. But weirdly, statistics show that a lot of us don't actually vote.

Photo via iStock.

It turns out that having young children actually makes people a little bit less likely to get to the polls on Election Day.

There could be a lot of reasons for this, from parents having less time to stay up to date on the campaigns and issues to just the general chaotic nature of raising tiny humans.

But whatever the reason, it's really, really important for us to teach our kids how all of this works. Some research has even shown that kids often get their views on politics and civic engagement from watching their parents. So if we don't vote, it could be the beginning of a vicious cycle.

Justin Ruben, cofounder of the organization Parents Together, has a good idea for how to fix this strange phenomenon, though: parent-kid voting selfies!

Ruben's mission is, broadly, to help parents navigate all the challenges of raising kids. Trying to figure out how to stand in a 45-minute voting line with a screaming toddler is definitely a big one.

So he and his organization recently launched a campaign called #FamilyVote, encouraging parents to take their kids with them to the polls and post photos of the outing on social media.

"It felt like we were tapping into one of the most powerful forces on the internet, parents making other people look at their kids." he joked. "We want to take that and harness it for social change."

The idea? Fill everyone's feed with cute family pictures on Election Day, encouraging other stressed out parents to join in on the fun. It's called social pressure.

The #FamilyVote photos started pouring in during early voting and haven't stopped since.

Here are a few to get you feeling super pumped about the beautiful families that make up America.

Here are mom and dad Belinda and Alex Reyes along with their kids, Gabriel, Vidal, and Sofia.

Photo by Belinda Reyes, used with permission.

Tawaualla Foley said sharing this important election with her kids was one of the proudest moments of her life. "I was filled with so much joy," she said.

Photo by Tawaualla Foley, used with permission.

Jon Whiten and his wife took their young son to the polls. "Today, there were lessons we imparted all the way up and down the ballot," he said.

"It's important to me and my wife that we instill some core democratic values in our son as he starts to grow."

Photo by Jon Whiten, used with permission.

"Though all elections are historical, this one feels especially significant to me as a Hispanic female," said Denise Rivera, who voted with her 4-year-old son.

She was so giddy and excited to vote, she said, that her son asked her on the way to the polls if Hillary Clinton was Michael Jackson.

Photo by Denise Rivera, used with permission.

Kelli Soyer said, "It's important my daughter knows she has a voice and to use it."

She also said she wants to really talk about the candidates and what they stand for with her daughter, so that when she turns 18, she'll be an educated voter.

Photo by Kelli Soyer, used with permission.

And the photos just keep coming in from families all over the country.

Photo by Parents Together, used with permission.

"If we want parents' voices to be heard, we need to participate," Ruben said.

And so far, the project seems to be working. Ruben said a dry run during the primaries in the spring showed that, as simple as it sounds, this selfie campaign was hugely effective at inspiring parents to go vote.

And now, on Election Day, he says the photos are pouring in by the hundreds, with the hashtag spreading far beyond his organization's usual network. That's awesome.

So get out there, America, and take your kids with you if possible.

They might be pumped to join you in the booth, or they might whine and complain the whole way. You won't know 'til you get there! Building a better America for our kids starts now.

Lawyers' Committee

Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights

'For my sweet super girl of a goddaughter who deserves to know that she can do anything.'

People have already turned out to vote in the 2016 election in record numbers, and many are hoping their efforts will elect the first female president of the United States.

Those who were alive when women didn't even have the right to vote are proudly casting their ballots in the name of busting through yet another glass ceiling.

It's inspiring that tons of people are coming out to vote. But what's even more inspiring is how many are dedicating their vote to women who've touched their lives on a more personal level.

People took to Twitter using #DedicateYourVoteToAWoman to share their dedications.

Some shouted out their grandmothers whose perseverance they always admired. Others mentioned their daughters for whom they hope their vote will help realize a better future.

Here are 11 incredible examples of people sharing why their vote means so much for progress.

1. This godmother dedicated her vote to her super goddaughter.

2. This husband dedicated his vote to a woman he loves and admires (his wife ... duh).

3. This person voted in honor of a woman who burst through another glass ceiling — Shirley Chisholm, the first African-American woman to be elected to Congress.

4. And here's an incredible dedication to a badass grandma and nana.

5. This daughter lost her mother six years ago. She thought voting for another woman who never quits was a fitting homage.

6. This man dedicated his vote to the millions of women in Saudi Arabia who need support now more than ever.

7. And this woman who followed that up by giving hers to a woman in Haiti who lost everything.

8. This woman cast her ballot for all the undocumented mothers who fear a Trump presidency more than most.

9. With this election rife with incidents of sexual assault, this woman dedicate her vote to all women suffering (often in silence).

10. This dedication is for the women whose progress was thwarted by a misogynistic world.

11. And finally, a dedication to all the women who sacrificed themselves so that we can have this privilege today.

A woman in the White House would mean we've made significant progress in the name of equality.

This win for progress is captured most succinctly in these posts.

If one woman can take the most powerful seat in the country, it paves a much smoother path for all women — past, present, and future — to break through our own glass ceilings.