Millennials and Gen Z-ers are not feeling the Biden love. Many are threatening to sit out next year’s election. Some are flirting with supporting Donald Trump — or a third-party random candidate What will it take to lock in these voters?
There is a whole host of formulas with scores of constantly shifting variables. Millennials and Gen Z-ers don’t just expect different things from candidates than do older voters. They approach the entire concept of voting differently, generally in ways that make them harder to persuade and mobilize.
It is difficult getting younger people registered for, informed about and comfortable with voting in general. young people: They may be progressive, but they are not Democrats. They don’t turn out for parties. They have more of a direct-democracy vibe.
The research indicates they have little trust in most major U.S. institutions. Certainly among the Gen Z-ers maintaining their independence from and skepticism of a compromised political establishment they feel is not working for them is a point of pride.
Younger voters also are less inclined to turn out simply because they like a candidate’s personality. They are driven by issues that speak to their lives, their core values or, ideally, both.
The most outstanding current example of this is the issue of abortion rights, which has emerged as a red-hot electoral force.Younger voters express anxiety about the practical repercussions of this decision and fury at the government intrusion into people’s personal lives. The issue has a clarity, immediacy and tangibility that appeal to younger voters. This is especially true when it appears as a stand-alone ballot initiative.
For progressives, at what point does Mr. Biden’s handling of Gaza outweigh his embrace of, say, combating climate change or protecting abortion access or supporting labor unions? What if the only alternative is another Trump term?
Interestingly, When researchers ask younger people why they don’t vote, one of the top responses, is: I didn’t feel I knew enough about the candidates.
Younger voters need to be reminded of the concrete changes their votes can effect. The Biden administration has pushed through a major investment in fighting climate change; billions of dollars for infrastructure are flowing into communities, including rural, economically strapped areas.
Also, the first African American woman was appointed to the Supreme Court; many judges from notably diverse professional backgrounds have been placed on the lower courts, and so on.
Most broadly, everyone from interest groups to parties to candidates needs to push the message that a democratically elected government can still achieve big things.
This goes beyond any specific bill or appointee. Younger Americans aren’t convinced that government can make meaningful progress. Some days it is hard to blame them. But this cynicism has terrible implications for democracy, and all of us would do well to fight it.