Election Perceptions
story by Winnie Killingsworth and Michele Trombly, design and illustration by Madilyn Larsen
A marriage of enemies has many young American voters divorcing the two-party political system. Some see the Democratic and Republican parties as two sides of the same coin, and they don’t accept that currency. Voters from the Millennial generation (born between 1981 and 1996) and Generation Z, or Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012) are looking for more. Many seem to find appeal in other active political groups in the United States that are not given the same platform as the two main political parties.
“We've got promises made, and promises not kept,” says Landis Hanson, a 2023 graduate who now goes by Rivkeh. “As young folks, we have had a lifetime of decreasing standards of living, a lifetime of increasing rents, a lifetime of wage stagnation… Neither party seems to be really talking about that.”
Who’s voting?
Elections happen at every level of government in the United States. Oftentimes, the more people advocate for the candidate they prefer, the more coverage that candidate receives in the news and on social media. Elections are not always popular with younger generations, but Millennials and Gen Z are becoming more engaged politically as time progresses.
“I do see that the younger generations are more involved,” Michelle Carrillo, director of the Associated Students of CWU (ASCWU) Office of Governmental Affairs, says. “I do expect that number to grow.”
By looking at the results of a spring 2024 Harvard Youth Poll, a clearer picture can start to form about where the increased numbers could be coming from. Out of 2,010 participants, ranging from 18 to 29 years old, 53% said that they would “definitely be voting” in the general election for president in November of this year.
They aren’t just talking about voting in general, but about voting for candidates that express care for issues they have with the current voting structure. The two party system that the U.S. has adopted doesn’t offer representation for everyone. That is just one of the issues that is a priority to young voters.
With another presidential election incoming, more Millennial and Gen Z voters are registering than ever before. Using data from the United States Census there is an idea of where the numbers have increased.
Total Population Stats for Elections:
2012 election: Total Population born between 1981 and 1994
Reported Registered: 52.8%
Reported Voted: 41%
2016 election: Total Population born between 1981 and 2016
Reported Registered: 55.2%
Reported Voted: 44%
2020 election: Total Population born between 1981 and 2002
Reported Registered: 59.7%
Reported Voted: 52%
Through interviews for this article and a survey PULSE created and shared on social media, CWU students disclosed that they feel they have a lot to worry about. Grades, finances, student debt, healthcare and increasing living expenses are just a few of their concerns. The interviewees and survey participants also highlighted specific issues they consider when picking political candidates to support, including climate change, human rights, reproductive rights, immigration, the housing crisis and Israel’s ongoing genocide of Palestine.
“The younger generations are ready to speak up, and you can see that just around the world where everybody’s protesting, especially universities,” Carrillo says. “Voting is a privilege that I have, and my family doesn't. The fact that I'm not using that privilege for something good, or for a change that I know could really benefit my family in the long run, I feel like that's something that you really have to make students realize because I was a student that was raised [to] stay away from politics, [and that] your vote doesn't matter.”
Navigating the Landscape
Charli Sorenson is the president of the League of Women Voters (LWV) in Kittitas County. The LWV is a national nonpartisan organization that offers information on election candidates so that people can make informed voting choices.
Sorenson emphasizes the importance of social media when it comes to voting and the younger generations. “The whole reason we're in social media is to get at the younger voters because right now my age cohort in any given election, 80% of the eligible folks are voting, whereas you're lucky if you get 30%,” Sorenson says. “But you have the numbers. You can outvote us, you can completely turn around and change the narrative, you can make climate change mitigation the big push but you have to get out there and vote.”
An important part of the conversation about voting is the presence of barriers to using one’s voting power. This lack of access comes in many different forms. Where, when and how elections are held are all important things to consider. Mail-in and in-person voting are two systems that can impact an individual’s ability to exercise their right. Washington state is one of only eight states to allow all elections to be conducted entirely by mail, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. This is also the method that the District of Columbia, where the national legislature sits, uses to conduct their elections.
Another hurdle is the requirements that one must meet in order to be able to vote at all. Just because you live in the U.S. does not mean you get to vote, even if you are a permanent resident. You have to be a U.S. citizen (unless you are in a U.S. territory), and you cannot have been convicted of a felony. There are no exceptions to this rule. “I come from a family who are mostly immigrants; they don't have the opportunity to vote,” Noel Trujillo-Garcia, the civic engagement coordinator at ASCWU, says.
You can also be denied the ability to vote if you have a disability and are determined by the government to not be competent. How that is determined varies by state.
Timing is another factor that affects an individual’s ability to vote. The day of the presidential election always falls on a Tuesday, at the beginning of the traditional work week. In states where in-person voting is the standard, this makes it difficult for people to make it to the designated polling stations when they are open. Stations might be open only when individuals are working, or may be farther away than they can travel on their lunch break. Having reliable transportation to the polling station is another accessibility issue.
A simple way to help increase the accessibility of voting is offering better education so voters can feel more capable and confident about participating in the election process.
Here at CWU, ASCWU hosts a Student Engagement Hub (SEH) as part of their civic engagement work that has volunteers from LWV who help with voting on election days and registering people to vote. “[It] doesn't matter where you're registered to vote,” Sorenson says. “You can go in there, print off the ballot…, fill it out [and] get it out in the ballot box.”
This helps students have their voices be heard in their hometowns while they are at college working toward their education. Sorenson also says that before the pandemic, “the ASCWU was really great at getting students voting…They'd get five, six seven hundred kids voting on Election Day.” ASCWU and LWV are currently working towards bringing the number of voting students back up to pre-pandemic rates.
Close to Home
Focus often falls on presidential elections, but local elections are where people can see more tangible effects of their votes in their community and beyond. Voting at the state level is particularly important for college students and those that fall within that age bracket.
The state legislature is who “control[s] the funding for the university,” Todd Schaefer, chair of CWU’s political science department, says. Voting for representatives and campaigning for bills has the potential to increase funding for students on college campuses. Schaefer also talks about the “bigger splash” one can make when they get involved in local or state level campaigns. In his classes, he offers extra credit for students who register to vote.
State and local elections see lower averages of voter turnout, despite individual votes having higher potential for visible impact. “Who Votes for Mayor?” is a Portland State University project that is interested in learning about the demographics of who votes in local elections. One of the project’s findings is that “fewer than 15 percent of eligible citizens are turning out to vote for community leaders like mayors and city councilors.”
Even when comparing the numbers from “Who Votes for Mayor?” with the voting statistics mentioned at the beginning of this article, voting turnouts barely exceed more than half.
History shows how the younger generations challenge parts of society and government with goals for improvement. Millennials and Gen Z are the next generations fighting to see change in political representation for themselves and others. Divorcing the two-party political system is an important step in that direction for them.
