Fall weather, pumpkin spice lattes, and changing leaves are among us which indicates that there is only one more year until the 2024 presidential election. On November 5, 2024, Americans nationwide will go to their local voting locations to cast their ballots in favor of a candidate. Gen X will line up after work at 5 pm, and Millennials will stop by during their lunch breaks. Gen Z, however, faces more obstacles on our path to democratic participation. Most of the voting-eligible members of Gen Z are currently attending college, and many of us live outside our home state where we are registered to vote. This creates a daunting wall for us that must be broken down.
I turned 18 in March 2020, a few months before the presidential primary began. I was able to vote in person in my home state of Florida over the summer, but when the primary occurred, I was here at Northeastern University by the time the general election rolled around. I could vote by mail without any hiccups, but it required me to know what date to mail my ballot and where to drop it off.
During the midterm elections in 2022, I had to vote by mail again. However, this time, my ballot did not arrive when it was scheduled. It turns out it had been shipped to my old address, which I had moved away from during the two years since the 2020 election. I got a new ballot shipped to my new residence, and it managed to narrowly arrive at my voting location in Florida on election day.
Members of Gen Z across the country face similar issues while attempting to cast their ballots, vastly decreasing the number of young voters. The turnout of young voters is much too vital not to be brought to the forefront of election coverage. In the 2020 election as well as the 2022 election, the ballots cast by people aged 18-28 made all the difference in the world.
In the 2020 election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, Gen Z voters contributed to Joe Biden’s victory in a paramount way. According to NBC exit polls, 65% of voters between 18 and 24 voted for Biden. This shocking statistic indicates that Gen Z voters contributed to the ultimate winner of the election 11% more than any other age group. Although Millennials are considered a voting generation, Gen Z is surpassing even their numbers in terms of turnout. According to TeenVogue, Gen Z is “turning out at twice the rate that millennials ever did when they were young.” To continue this trend for the newly-legal members of Gen Z, it is important to eliminate issues with vote-by-mail methods and work towards increasing the number of young people registered to vote.
In the 2022 election, the numbers followed the pattern established during the 2020 election. Midterm elections usually result in a much lower voter turnout than the general election, and although this year was no different, there were significant statistics regarding young voters. NPR reported that “about 27% of voters between the ages of 18-29 cast a ballot in the midterm election” in 2022. This may not seem high, but it is the second-highest percentage in the past three decades.
The only year with higher turn out was in 2018, the midterms after Donald Trump was first elected. As NPR reports, “Historically, youth voter turnout has hovered around 20% during midterm elections.” It is more important than ever for youth voters to show up and vote in the 2024 election. The very foundation of our democracy is at stake. To salvage the freedom we still have in the United States, I believe it is overwhelmingly essential for Gen Z to cast their ballots.