Gen Z Gets Out the Vote

Now at the age of (relative) maturity, mid–2000s babies have only glimpsed a political world of scandal and the bitter vicissitudes of changing regimes. Through the meteoric rise of Donald Trump, the mixed bag of Joe Biden, and now a tenuous future under either Trump or Kamala Harris, today's youth can’t be blamed for feeling estranged from the political process, as if watching a bad television show with the same sorry cast of actors every year. The response of some to this political circus has been to harbor a sense of doubt about the system, and not participate; others feel the uneasiness and want to do something about it. Most, however, have a certain presentiment about this election: It is pivotal for the direction of the country. 

This quality stems from the perception that issues important to either the Republican, Democrat, or independent are on the ballot and for the first time, those born in the mid–2000s can have a say in these issues. For organizations in Philadelphia, this means canvassing on college campuses and in high schools. It also means fighting a sense of voter apathy that has arisen not only in youth but across all ages. However, for many Philadelphia youth, especially those in low–income communities, apathy is not the problem, but rather a lack of civic education stemming from underfunding. These students care greatly about different issues, but a lack of the right tools makes political engagement a challenge.

Most people care about the economic issues that affect their everyday lives: domestic prices of goods, wages, debt, and the rising cost of living. These manifest themselves through worries about putting food on the table and getting the kids to school. For the youth, the concerns of social issues hold more relative importance, like gun control, abortion care, student debt, and climate change. Some, like those in the Uncommitted Movement, care greatly about international issues, like the war in Gaza, and how international struggles intersect with domestic concerns.

In 2020, 54% of Pennsylvanians aged 18–29 voted in the Trump–Biden face–off; according to recent polling data, 59% of Pennsylvanians aged 18–30 plan to vote for Harris in November. Since Biden’s July 21 dropout, organizers saw a drastic increase in registration across the board. Some organizers, like Kadida Kenner from the New Pennsylvania Project, say that there was around a 60% increase in voter registration by her organization. Before Biden dropped out, “We were experiencing lots of voter apathy, disgust, disinterest,” says Kenner. 

Pennsylvania, as a swing state, is a battleground: Both candidates want to win the support of divided areas. While Philadelphia is usually a Democratic haven, and rural areas are usually Republican, and smaller cities and suburbs like Allentown–Bethlehem, Harrisburg, Erie, and Scranton are split. But this does not at all mean that Philadelphia proper is irrelevant: In 2020, Philadelphia trailed behind the rest of Pennsylvania in terms of voter turnout by more than 10%. Losing its share of statewide Democratic votes in 2022, Philadelphia has some major catch–up work to do this time around. And it all starts with registering potential voters.

Organize!

Philadelphia has numerous organizations that register people to vote, many of which cater to young people. Through outreach on college campuses and events in the city, organizers have been able to interact with the youth who have just turned 18. “They're excited they made the cutoff. If they didn't make the cutoff, they're disappointed about it,” says Melissa Wright from the League of Women Voters of Philadelphia. Beyond registering, many organizations engage in civic education. Wright says that one thing her organization has been trying to do is to show people the election is not only for the President: there are other positions at stake, including a Senate race and a congressional seat. Beyond this election, organizers are trying to show that registering to vote also means taking part in local elections as well, not only presidential ones. 

Organizations also want to show that voting matters. This is especially hard in West Philadelphia high schools, where the level of political engagement is low. Unlike well–endowed college campuses, which haven’t faced the same disinvestment and disregard from elected officials, high schools are struggling to civically educate students and get them excited about politics. “They generally do not think that anything will change, and they don't think that the people who are in charge…either have the desire to or the capacity to bring about the change that they want to see,” says Nina Wang, co–leader of the High School Voter Project.

Fighting this sense of cynicism has been a goal of HSVP for years, and through educational programs and voter registration, they hope to get the students engaged with politics. One way to stimulate interest is to bring back the conversation to local problems: SEPTA inconsistency, clean streets, and school conditions. Above all, students care about the proliferation of gun violence: “Every student knew of someone, or was related to someone, or was maybe even involved in an incident themselves,” says Wang, speaking about students in West Philadelphia high schools.

The Impact of Social Media

By bringing in local legislators and running creative projects, HSVP hopes to revitalize interest in local politics for students. This task has become increasingly difficult in the age of social media. Wang says that for students in the summer program, “Instagram was their main source of news,” and she heard “so many students say things that were not accurate or true at all, and it was because they saw it on social media.” This overdependence on social media leads predictably to polarizing opinions and a lack of understanding of the political process. According to HSVP’s Mahala Garcia–Bartch, “A lot of them actually didn't know that Biden dropped out.” They emphasized that this problem cannot be blamed on the students, and has to do with a wider failure in the surrounding infrastructure of learning. Further, this is not an isolated issue: In 2022, a study found that over half of teens used social media to get news. 

Beyond contributing to misinformation, social media also has another unintended effect: the trivialization of politics. A political plea is just another post in the feed, and when juxtaposed so abruptly with memes, posts from friends, and engaging content, politics becomes theater, comedy even. Garcia–Bartch also says that AI has been “dangerous” because students have been taking fake videos for reality. In some cases, AI videos and social media posts about the legitimacy of the election have caused skepticism about voting.

The New Pennsylvania Project has run into the problem of misinformation about the electoral process as well, which, according to Kenner, amounts to a form of voter suppression. “Spreading disinformation and misinformation is a form of voter suppression, because you are absolutely going to suppress the votes of those who could possibly agree with you when you say that we're not having free and fair elections.” This spreading of disinformation has become prevalent on social media, and those who are on apps like X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram are fed the same content through their algorithms, creating echo chambers. 

However, social media has positive engagement impacts, especially given the recent change of candidacy in the race with Harris. “I think that's probably combated some voter apathy … it's not the same thing that happened four years ago,” says Alyssa Antonian from Penn Leads the Vote. For younger voters, Harris and her campaign strategy have been more relevant. Whether through rallies including rap artists, or engaging with TikTok–ers, Harris’s campaign has leaned into what the youth care about, using cultural touchstones as a means to communicate across age barriers. 

The Importance of Education

A recent study found that 43% of Pennsylvanians count politics as a major source of stress in their lives. When politics becomes not only stressful, but distant, it disincentivizes electoral participation, which already can be a confusing system in terms of who should be held accountable for lack of follow through. This leads to one of the main problems to be faced by organizations engaging youth voters: skepticism. But this sense of skepticism can be quelled by civic education, the amount of which depends on where one goes to school. This predicament has uniquely economic roots. “I think the youth engagement depends on where you are, and if you're fortunate and privileged enough to be in a school district that is funded well, like Lower Merion, Radnor, Methacton,” the level of engagement will be high, says Angelique Hinton from PA Youth Vote. 

Hinton also points out the historical problem of the Pennsylvania school district funding system, which in 2023 was found to be unconstitutional due to its uneven support given to schools. “They put so little investment at the state level, and the way they fund the difference is through property taxes, which inherently creates this racist impact.” This impact is felt disproportionally due to redlining and the disparity in property values between black and brown communities and white ones. The effect is that underfunded schools are “not getting any access to voter education” and civics. When civic education nationally is “grossly underfunded,” there is a correlative decline in a “lack of governmental understanding,” something being experienced in most American K–12 schools.

To address these problems, PA Youth Vote adopts a strategy of youth creating events for other youth. They believe that “You can't create [an engaging event] for young people if you don't have young people telling you what should be included in the event.” Some of the events PA Youth Vote has put on, working with local students, are civic–themed field days, voting at City Hall, and youth panels. In all of these events, which pull in low–income communities and other grassroots organizations like #VoteThatJawn, the goal is to make civic engagement fun, relevant, and impactful.

PA Youth Vote and its affiliates stress local engagement and accountability. In the context of the school district inequity, Hinton says, “We're going to make sure [elected officials] hear about it, and we're going to send young people, and then we're going to write op–eds, and then we're going to do digital testimonies on our social media about how these things are affecting young people.” What organizations like PA Youth Vote and HSVP want to do is to empower youth. “When you let them in, they are innovative, they are determined, they are passionate, and they will do amazing things, but we have to make space for them to actually get out here.” 

Without education, it is hard for students and community members in general to place blame on the right people. Hinton and PA Youth Vote have dubbed it something the youth can relate to. “We really just try to let them tell us the issues and connect it for them to what we call it: Who gets the smoke?” In the case of schooling, which is an issue on the top of most kids' minds, Hinton wants to prepare students to “testify to the school board on public record at council meetings,” connecting the problem to the constituents.

Get Involved!

“If you were 10 years old in 2015, the only political conversation you've seen, once you've been aware of politics, has been really nasty fighting, and how much would that turn you off to politics? It is completely understandable that younger people will be turned off, which is such a sad thing,” says Vicki Miller from Indivisible Philadelphia. 

To fight this disengagement, Miller emphasizes political involvement. “There are many ways to work on this election if you're anxious about what could happen to our country if we don't get the outcome we want in this election.” She mentions Indivisible’s 35 Doors Project, which involves canvassing in one’s own neighborhood. Indivisible provides all the training and resources required, and they have been able to reach thousands of people through this project. Miller also notes that young people have become involved in politics through this project.

In the end, it comes down to making elected officials listen to young people and the issues they care about. An upcoming youth press conference called “Trend that Jawn” crystallizes these themes: flooding social media, talking to elected officials, and voting. “When you vote, elected leaders play very close attention to who votes and when you vote. You are a threat to them staying in power, and so they will have to be more responsive to you, because they know you might vote for somebody else,” Hinton says.