University of Chicago student Jennifer Anyidi usually checks presidential election news only every few days or so, but she sees a lot of Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign ads on TikTok in between.
“It's very fun and upbeat, and it's nice. But we also want to hear the serious sides,” says the 21-year-old Dallas native.
While Anidi's vote for Harris over former President Donald Trump is not in doubt, the candidate's social media feed did not give her the full picture of how Harris will handle the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
“You can have the latest memes and the latest trends, but can you have a set of policies?” Anidi said. “What is best for us as young voters is to strike a balance between the two.”
She was among Gen Z voters who told the Sun-Times they appreciate the steps Harris and Trump are taking in their campaigns to connect with the next generation. But beyond the TikTok videos, podcasts and Instagram Stories, they say they're looking for the same things voters of most ages are looking for: less libelous and more realistic policy proposals.
“The disrespectful nature of politics keeps kids away,” said Christina Caris, youth outreach director for her father, Republican Jim Caris, campaign for a congressional seat on the North Shore. “When they don't hear a candidate attacking the other side, the moment they give us a say in our future, that's what matters most.”
An estimated 41 million “Zoomers,” born from approximately 1997 to 2006, are eligible to vote in the Nov. 5 election, according to the nonpartisan Center for Information and Research on Learning and Civic Engagement at Tufts University in Massachusetts. This includes about 8 million voters who can cast their ballot for the first time ever.
No shame – not “in one box”
It's an increasingly diverse group of voters, with nearly half of eligible Gen Z voters coming from communities of color, and one that skews left politically, according to the Pew Research Center, which found about two-thirds of voters between 18 and 24 years old. Association with the Democratic Party.
Illinois Republicans reject this characterization.
The GOP is “pulling away” from the Democratic edge among young voters, especially outside urban areas, says Miles Nelson, 26, campaign manager for Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Bost.
“I see more young people wearing red MAGA hats and supporting Donald Trump than I see supporting Kamala Harris,” Nelson said. “Whether people like it or not, we have to shift the focus to Gen Z and millennial voters. “We are reaching out to them as we do to all voters and showing them the common-sense solutions that Republicans offer.”
Karis advised against putting Generation Z in one box… This is the generation that has the greatest access to information and media. “We can learn things much faster than generations before us.”
Misconceptions about young voters come from both sides of the aisle, according to state Rep. Nabila Sayed, D-Palatine, who becomes one of the first two Gen Z members in the Illinois General Assembly in 2022.
“What I've seen too often is compromise in the approach to engaging young voters, and an assumption that they won't come out to vote. I think it's our responsibility to engage young voters and motivate them to give them a reason to vote,” said Syed, 25. “Sometimes it is difficult, as it is for all age groups.”
Nabila Sayed (centre) speaks with young voters in Palatine.
Provided by Nabila Sayed Campaign
Shannon Day, co-chair of the nonpartisan student-led group UChicago Votes, said their organization is working to change that narrative of shaming younger generations to prevent a cycle of low turnout.
“You hear a lot like, 'Oh, young people, like you're not going to the polls, like you don't care about anything,'” said Day, 21. “When you say to young people, 'Oh, look at you.' “You vote so little, it almost gives people a pass.”
How to reach Gen Z
To get beyond this, campaigns need to address the issues that matter most to young people.
“I think my friends and I are most concerned with women's rights — the rights to our bodies, the rights to our reproductive systems,” said Mia Lee, a 22-year-old DePaul University graduate.
That's the message Democrats are waging on the toughest issues that resonate with Generation Z, along with climate change, inflation and the cost of living, according to Nick Roberson, youth outreach leader for the Illinois Democratic Party.
“The issues are not much different for Generation Z compared to the older generation,” said Roberson, 30. He added that the ways to reach it are as well. “It's more about building community. Young people want to be part of something bigger than themselves.
Most often, those communities are online: Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and more web spaces where memes and influencers reign supreme.
The Harris and Trump campaigns have become “fully attuned” to that culture, according to Day, who says the major parties are finally starting to catch up with the methods her group has been using for years.
The group uses memes, funny and educational reels, and giveaways such as stickers to remind students to register to vote. One UChicago Votes engagement effort was plastered on a Dye water bottle: a label featuring a medley of Sabrina Carpenter's hit song “Please Please Please” — with an added plea: “Remember to vote.”
Students meet campus Republicans at “Politipalooza” at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics, Monday, September 30, 2024.
Tyler Basiak Larivière/Sun-Times
Law, of West Rogers Park, said that while young voters still care about the issues discussed during election season, potential young voters can see a real approach to “meme culture” led by one of their own. “It makes a difference and seems less forced.”
But it's not that this will work every election cycle, Day said.
“Four years from now, you're going to have a whole new generation…becoming eligible voters. We'll probably have a completely different culture associated with that, and social media probably won't be as influential. Things are constantly changing in terms of popular culture, which is What attracts people's attention.
An election season like this — one with the Harris campaign co-opting singer Charli
“There was less foolishness, because you had the seriousness of the summer of 2020. It was coronavirus, it was the Black Lives Matter movement. It wouldn't make sense to make that time a meme culture.
Kamala Harris enters the race
She added that the change in Democratic nominee added to the “energy shift” this election cycle.
“We're much more energized about the possibility of seeing someone new in office, and also younger in office,” agreed Shaw Carlson, a UCLA sophomore involved with Campus Democrats.
“I wasn’t a fan of (Trump or President Joe Biden) because of their age,” Homer Glenn Zoomer said. “I'm so excited to see someone who doesn't have gray hair in their hair.”
