This op-ed first published in the Traverse City Record-Eagle.
By Nicholas Jansen
Rural Clean Energy Organizer
This election year, no matter where they fall on the political spectrum, young people in Michigan have a real opportunity to decide our future.
Historically, young people have voted in low numbers. In the past few years though, we have seen an increase nationally, with Michigan leading the way. In 2020, youth nationwide set a record for a presidential election with more than 50% of eligible 18- to 29-year-olds voting; Michigan placed third nationally with 54% of eligible young people voting. In the 2022 midterm elections, Michigan led the nation with a record 37% of eligible youth voting.
2020 was the first time there were more Millennial (1981–1996) and Gen Z (born 1997–2012) voters combined than Baby Boomer and Silent Generation voters combined.
An increase in youth voters is plausible in 2024 because we live in a moment when the biggest issues that young people care about are in the spotlight. According to a poll by the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE)—a nonpartisan, independent research organization—“Young people’s top issues are inflation/cost of living, jobs that pay a living wage, gun violence, and climate change.” No matter where youth voters stand on these issues, they will be a deciding contingent.
Typically, political parties aim to attract swing voters. However, the American National Election Studies (ANES), a joint collaboration between the University of Michigan and Stanford University, “found a clear and undeniable trend of swing voters virtually disappearing from the electorate. In 2020, just 5.6% of voters fell into that category—down from 13% in 2008.” This trend suggests that parties may focus on appealing to new voters, including young people.
In fact, 2020 was the first time there were more Millennial (1981–1996) and Gen Z (born 1997–2012) voters combined than Baby Boomer and Silent Generation voters combined. Michigan has 1.3 million registered voters ages 18 to 29—just over 15% of the state’s voters. Being 29, I’m arguably in my last year as a “youth.” I’ve mobilized the youth vote in every national election since I could first vote, in 2012. In all this time, I’ve never witnessed such a strong conviction among young people that we have power and must start to use it.
When young people voted in record numbers in 2020, politicians noticed. When young people again showed up in record numbers in 2022, politicians started listening. If young people vote at record numbers in 2024, politicians will have no choice but to take meaningful action on the issues we care most about. We cannot afford to sit this one out. If you are a youth interested in helping to register peers or are a partner engaging young people in nonpartisan voter engagement and would like to join the Northern Michigan Youth Vote Network, contact me at nicholas.jansen@groundworkcenter.org.
Groundwork does not endorse or oppose any candidate for public office and remains nonpartisan in all voter engagement activities.
PS, Send this email to a young person in your life!
Nicholas Jansen, Groundwork’s Rural Clean Energy Organizer
nicholas.jansen@groundworkcenter.org
