Make Your Voice Heard, Gen Z
Ensure a better future by casting your votes this year.
With the Presidential Election coming this year, now is the time to learn about the voting process and why your voice matters. Despite there not being a favorable candidate amongst the young population, not voting at all will put the decision in the hands of the older population, causing a lack of proper representation.
Gen Z is quickly becoming the largest population by generation in America. 20.8% of the population consists of those born from 1997 to 2012, while millennials edge out Gen Z by less than 1 percent to be the largest generation in America, according to a 2022 study by Statista.
Because proper representation is so important to the Gen Z population, knowing how to register to vote is key. Thanks to many advancements in technology, there are multiple ways to register. You can register in person, by mail, or online from the comfort of your own home. To register online, follow the step-by-step instructions on registertovoteflorida.gov. To mail in your registration, print and fill out this pdf that can be found at www.myfloridaelections.com/Voting-Elections/Register-To-Vote. You must then mail this form to any of the addresses listed on the pdf.
Chitrapa, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Although none of the projected 2024 Presidential candidates seem to garner enthusiastic support from young voters, there are more things to vote on than the president. Spots in the US Senate and House are both up for grabs on the ballot. Despite the age requirements for the Senate being 30 and 25 for the House of Representatives, there is already Gen Z representation in Congress, and more candidates will be on the upcoming ballot.
Gen Z voters care about issues and values over partisan loyalty voting, according to an interview with Morley Winograd, a senior at USC Annenberg and author of three books, done by wbaltv.com. This makes the other issues on the ballot more important than ever. Two issues that have great relevance to Gen Z will be on the Florida ballot, the legalization of marijuana for adults over the age of 21, and the right to have an abortion before 24 weeks, or when necessary to protect the patient’s health.
Despite the unenthusiastic support for either likely Presidential candidate in 2024, there are plenty of reasons to register and vote to achieve better representation for the Gen Z demographic. Decisions should be made by the people who will live to see the effects of every act passed by the government.