The top policy issues impacting the votes of our generation aren’t exactly surprising.
What issues are you bringing to the polls this election season? #whativotefor highlights just that, in the form of a social media cross-platform campaign facilitated by 18by Vote, as well as partners including New Voters, CoGenerate, DoSomething, HeadCount, and more. In an election that can make Gen Zers feel helpless, it is more important than ever to make your voice heard using your vote.
According to CIRCLE at Tufts University, some of the key issues that young people are voting for this election are as follows:
- Inflation
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Many of us were taught the value of a dollar growing up, so what do we do when we don’t know what that is anymore? While the rate of inflation is slowing down compared to earlier this year, Gen Z has grown up in an uncertain economic climate, spending part of our childhood in The Great Recession from 2007 to 2009. Grocery prices remain high, and young people are having a hard time becoming financially independent.
While young people’s views and action on social issues like abortion and gun violence often garner the most attention, and remain highly salient, young people are sending a clear message that their primary concern is the economy.
— CIRCLE at Tufts University - Increasing wages
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One of the biggest issues that young people are dealing with right now is the job market; it’s seemingly impossible to get a job with reasonable hours that pays well enough not to need a side hustle or a second (or even third) job. College degrees are losing their value, with many young Americans even losing confidence in the concept. Unsurprisingly, young people are voting for policy that will increase their wages while keeping their career paths hopeful and equitable. In a job market that feels against them, Gen Z is passionate about increasing wages to offset inflation and set themselves up for success.
- Gun Violence
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Gen Z has grown up in the gun violence epidemic. No other generation has experienced such a frequency of violence in schools, with a shockwave of mental health struggles as a result. A Johns Hopkins analysis found that 48,204 people died by firearms in 2022 in the United States alone, which is the second-highest amount ever recorded in the country. There have been over 400 mass shootings this year alone, at least 50 of which occurring at schools. It is becoming increasingly difficult for Gen Z, and their parents, to confidently go to school without any sense of fear.
- Abortion access
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Perhaps one of the main issues of the Presidential Election, and one of the hottest pieces of usable rhetoric for Vice President Kamala Harris and Former President Donald Trump’s campaigns, abortion access and reproductive rights are extremely important to Gen Z.
According to a May 2024 poll conducted by Pew Research Center, 76% of individuals, ages 18-29, think that abortion should be legal in all or most cases, contrasting ages 50-64’s 57%. A Cosmopolitan survey conducted right before the overturning of Roe v. Wade illustrated that 9 in 10 young people believe they have the power to make a significant impact when it comes to safe abortion access. This can mean organizing protests, donating to abortion funds, running for office, debating in their communities, and more.
To participate in the #whativotefor campaign, post on any social media what issues you’re bringing to the polls (extra credit: tag @18byvote to be featured on their socials) and use the hashtag #whativotefor.
This election, 41 million Gen Zers are eligible to vote. Not sure where to get started on creating your voting plan? You can head to whativotefor.org/vote or Her Campus’s very own How To Actually Vote to get started.