Many are voting in their first presidential election, and their numbers can make a difference. But are they paying attention, and to what?
Thirteen college students seated in a small oval intently debate current issues at Western Washington University. It’s the Political Science Association, meeting on a recent Tuesday to scrutinize current events. The topic of the evening: Environmental policies and initiatives — some of which are on the November ballot in Washington.
While this group of 20-somethings may be outliers among their peers in terms of political engagement, they also make sure to keep their social circles informed or encourage them to vote.
Yet 58% of Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2012) agree that voting isn’t the most effective way to be heard or make change in America, according to focus group research conducted by Public Religion Research Institute. Regardless of the statistics, studies say most Zoomers still fill out a ballot.
One local Gen Z adult has already completed and returned his ballot. “I’m just way too ahead of things,” said Ethan Martez, a 20-year-old political science major.
Others are planning to vote, but haven’t gotten around to it quite yet. Brigitte Schnell, 20, also a political science major and PSA attendee, said she will definitely be voting.
“I will also get very mad if my roommates don’t vote,” Schnell added.
This generation of young adults may have the power to sway the election. The age group of 18-27 year-olds will be responsible for adding 40.8 million eligible voters, about 8 million of which are 18 this year. In Washington, 454,142 young adults aged 18-24 are registered to vote — about 9.3% of the total number of registered voters — and 17,248 are in Whatcom County alone — about 10.6% of the total.
Consider the source
Schnell said she makes sure her friends are up to date with current events and that they are making thoughtful decisions. Others, while not directly informing their peers, have confidence in their friend group.
“My social group, that isn’t political science friends, for the most part they’re also kept up on events that are happening around them, usually like big events,” Martez said.
Some Zoomers are lucky enough to have political science majors as friends who keep them up-to-date and informed, but some don’t have this connection. Social media is one way they seek to fill the gap. Gen Z has much closer ties to social media and the internet than older generations, since it has always been part of their lives. Not only is it a way to connect with peers, it also poses as a news source.
Schnell admits she gets a lot of her news from TikTok, but does her own fact-checking.
“I’ll hear something or I’ll see something and I go ‘oh, that’s interesting,’ and then I’ll do my own research on it. I don’t just automatically trust what’s on TikTok,” she said.
Most Gen Z adults trust news organizations the least out of any other generation at 67%. That is why, when they come across a post or headline they find intriguing, much like Schnell, they will conduct their own research and compare across multiple sources. It also may be why they use social media as a news source.
While they may be skeptical, Gen Z trusts one or two news organizations somewhat on a first read. For example, when looking for national news, Martez uses The New York Times. Getting news from social media instead of trusted news organizations has the potential to influence thoughts and opinions, not just for younger generations, but for everyone.
Cora Cumming, another political science enthusiast, gets some of her news from TikTok besides her go-to source, The Financial Times. She adds that she does fact check when she sees something she plans to use in her daily life.
“I’m getting fed a lot of the same information over and over again. I see a lot of pro-Kamala Harris stuff and I get a lot of that because I guess I Interact with it more, and I think that probably does influence my decision,” she said.
Other Zoomers don’t give social media posts the time of day.
“In my opinion, if it’s not a reputable source that’s not a news source, I’m gonna be skeptical about it and fact check everything or maybe just not even believe it to begin with,” Martez said.
He added that some members of Gen Z, especially younger ones, do fall into the trap of believing what they see on social media, perhaps due to lack of knowledge or training on how to conduct additional research. Instead of news, they’re finding posts from random people.
In real life
Regardless of where Zoomers get their news, including from friends studying political science, they can keep up with current events through social settings and gatherings on campus. Another is Bridge WWU, a student-led branch of a national organization, Bridge USA. They aim to bridge the gap between all sorts of people from all backgrounds and of all beliefs. Bridge WWU hosted an Oct. 24 event to talk about the upcoming election.
Participants gathered in a lecture hall with a small stage at the front. On the stage were five gray duct tape lines running from the front to the back. On the front of each line were printed paper signs in bold blue letters that read: “strongly disagree,” “kinda disagree,” “neutral/don’t know,” “kinda agree” and “strongly agree.”
Cumming, the president of Bridge WWU, explained that the idea was to use the lines and their coordinating signs to invoke discussion. People would begin by standing on “neutral” and someone would read a question. Then, participants move to a line with a statement that describes how they would answer the question. Jubilee, a popular YouTube channel, sparked the idea with their series called “Spectrum.”
The exercise drew five players and a handful of observers. Once everyone was happy with their placement on the tape, each had a chance to explain and provide reasoning for their choice. Every speaker drew respect and undivided attention. Observers remained silent and watched intently.
For the most part the players were in agreement within varying degrees of each other, and mostly liberal-leaning. Several participants noted that Washington is a blue state so people’s choices and answers didn’t come as a surprise.
Even when there was a slight disagreement or challenge of beliefs, no one was put down because of it. Quite the opposite — people were interested in what the other had to say.
Gen Z adults often show up more and participate in rallies, social gatherings and protests than older generations, according to the PRRI study. Perhaps this plays into their belief that voting isn’t the only way to make change.
“I think that in state and local elections you still can make a difference with your vote,” Cumming said. She added that if Washington were more of a swing state her vote might count more at the national level.
Regarding the PRRI finding that many Zoomers have little faith in government agencies, that may be chalked up to Gen Z adults not knowing what they can do to fix them or reshape them to be something they would trust.
“I don’t think we are necessarily checked out. I think we are really discouraged and I think that we don’t necessarily see a way to participate in politics that aligns with us,” Cumming said. But through clubs, protests, social media and research, Bellingham’s Gen Z is exploring their options.
— By Sophie Bechkowiak
Also read in Salish Current: “Paradox of passion, apathy impacts young voter turnout,” June 23, 2023