Ahead of November's presidential election, young voters don't seem excited about who they'll be voting for.
He was announced as the presumptive Republican nominee last month after former President Donald Trump won big races in several states' primaries. In many states, Trump was the only major candidate on the ballot after Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley withdrew from the presidential race.
If Trump formally accepts the nomination at the Republican convention in July, he will face off against President Joe Biden for a second time in November.
For both parties, winning the youth vote in November is at stake.
Voting among people ages 18 to 22 had been on the rise since 2010, but has declined since the 2020 election.
Fewer young people plan to vote in 2024, with much of the decline coming from young Republicans and independents, according to a Harvard Institute of Politics poll. In 2020, 57% of Americans ages 18 to 29 said they “definitely” planned to vote in the presidential election. This year, that number has dropped to 49%.
Hans J. G. Hassell, a professor at FSU whose research focuses on political parties and electoral politics, says the problem with youth turnout is not a lack of interest among young voters.
“Research shows that youth turnout is not due to a lack of interest,” Hassell said.
“Rather, it's because there are significant barriers to participation. Because younger voters have less voting experience, they may be less familiar with the voting process and unsure of where to go and how to vote. It’s not so much about motivating young voters as it is about making voting more accessible and increasing participation.”
In the 2020 presidential election, turnout among young people rose from 39% in 2016 to 50%, but there are concerns that young people who feel uncomfortable with both candidates will halt this momentum.
“There is no question that Americans of all ages are increasingly dissatisfied with the rematch of the 2020 election scheduled for this November,” said FSU student, who will graduate this summer. Owen Girard says.
He predicts that young people who supported Biden four years ago may not return to Biden's side this year.
“The current unaffordable cost of living, meaningless social justice politics, and the inability to deliver on 2020 campaign promises are all key factors,” he said.
FSU has seen a proliferation of civic engagement events that encourage students to vote and participate in politics.
At one of these events last November, campus groups including FSU Votes, student organizations, and Rock the Vote spread awareness about the upcoming election and encouraged and supported students to register to vote.
FSU's student union was selected last semester as a voting site for the 2024 election cycle, allowing students, faculty and staff to vote on campus. The union served people voting in Florida's Republican presidential primary last month.
“Thousands of students commute to the Union every day to eat, study, and see friends. If they could see their polling places during early voting and throughout the election day, it would encourage them to vote. “It will increase voter engagement on campus,” said Samuel Appel, junior and coordinator of FSU Student PIRG, a civic engagement organization.
Despite efforts to increase voter engagement on campus, students are still unsure about who to vote for and whether to vote at all.
Freshman Kanye Robinson plans to vote, but he's not excited about this year's nominees.
“We're going to vote in November. But we've seen this matchup before, so I feel like it demotivates everyone, especially the younger generation,” he said. .
“We already see Joe Biden as an old man and Trump as a criminal, so I feel like there's less incentive to go out and vote than there are newcomers on both sides of the aisle.”
Lilia Avalo, another freshman, expects a disappointing result.
“I'm willing to vote, but I think seeing the same candidates over and over again would be exhausting for people going to the polls. We've seen both candidates in office. Bland. I feel like there's probably not going to be a decent turnout and I feel like there's not going to be any incentive to go vote. There's no point and I feel almost hopeless,” Avalo said.
Despite the lack of attractive candidates, some say increasing youth turnout is important.
“The feeling that 'my vote doesn't matter' is ingrained in the minds of young people,” said Gonzalo Pardo Zambrano, vice president of the FSU Political Discourse Club and a third-year student.
“The foundational elements of what our world will be like in 20 years' time are being put in place today, but the people most concerned about it are not participating. Young people will always be the ones driving the most important changes to this country. We have a responsibility to maintain that in the next election.”
