Frustrated with political system, Gen Z voters not giving up

Posted by Cathy L. Stewart on July 19, 2024 at 9:00 AM

By Thom Reilly and Jacqueline Salit

Originally Posted by Arizona Capital Times on July 12, 2024

In the November 2024 election, almost 41 million members of Generation Z (under age 30) will be eligible to vote nationally. The Gen Z population voted at a higher rate in the 2022 midterm election than previous generations did at that age and the participation rate of young people in the 2020 presidential election was one of the highest since the voting age was lowered to 18 in 1972.

However, some sources indicate troubling signs that this trend may not be continuing. According to Harvard Kennedy School’s annual youth poll, the percent of 18- to 29-year-olds who are “definitely” going to vote dropped from 57% in 2020 to 49 % in 2024. Young adults are more skeptical of government and pessimistic about the future than any living generation before them.

So, what are the current Gen Z attitudes on voting? What key issues might impact their turnout?  What are their feelings about the political system overall?  And how likely are they to participate in the 2024 election?

Jacqueline Salit and Thom Reilly

These are some of the questions the ASU Center for an Independent and Sustainable Democracy asked  1,315 Arizona registered voters between the ages of 20 and 30. The results indicate frustration with the current political system, especially with the two major parties, coupled with a sense that there are opportunities to improve the responsiveness of our democracy. 

Arizona Gen Z voters are now distinctly  independent, with independent registrations comprising 49%, more than registration with the two major parties combined. Almost a third of all voters in this age group are Latino. These Gen Z voters as a whole overwhelmingly feel the two major parties are not working in the best interest of the country and are out of touch with people of their age. Only 20% of this group feels that the current political system works for their generation and 80% feel that both the Democratic and Republican parties are out of touch with people their age. Well over half believe that all politicians are corrupt.  

A sizeable number find  the voting system confusing, and say that candidates do not reflect their ideas and their vote does not matter. Nonetheless, with the election about four months away, a large majority indicate they will be voting in 2024. Fifty-three percent of the 20–30-year-olds surveyed said they will definitely vote in 2024, and 41% percent are at least considering the possibility.

In spite of their doubts about the current system’s capacity to deliver genuine representation, their support for democratic principles is strong.  There was overwhelming backing for equal access to voting regardless of party affiliation, for more third-party ballot choices, and belief in the idea that their vote can change things for the better.

Issues most important for this group of voters are primarily economic, with cost of living, affordable housing, health care, and jobs ranking as issues of most concern. Fair and secure elections and reproductive rights also are top of mind. Likely signaling a regional concern, protecting the water supply was also a major issue for this generation in Arizona. Interestingly, several ballot initiatives slated for November’s election will be a motivating factor in deciding to vote, especially those on open primaries, abortion rights and public funding for education.

The age 20-30 cohort of the electorate, which is trending independent, is ready to step in to take over as the boomer generation fades away, but they are profoundly frustrated with the political world that has been handed down to them. They appear to have little use for the two major parties. Yet despite this dissatisfaction with the current political atmosphere, 69% agree with this statement: my vote, along with the votes of my friends, can change things for the better. Eighty-eight  percent feel that people under age 30 should vote. They are not ready to give up on democracy, but they want to participate on their own terms. Will the two major parties, independent or third party candidates and reform advocates reach out to energize this population? Time will tell.

Thom Reilly is a professor, School of Public Affairs; co-director, Center for an Independent and Sustainable Democracy, Arizona State University.

Jacqueline Salit is co-director, Center for an Independent and Sustainable Democracy, Arizona State University.

Young Arizonans want to vote in November. But they hate their choices

Posted by Cathy L. Stewart on July 16, 2024 at 1:52 PM

A new ASU survey says Gen Z cares deeply about many issues but is turned off by both the Democratic and Republican parties.

Originally posted by By Noah Cullen, July 15, 2024, on Phoenix New Times

An Arizona State University survey found Gen Z voters are likely to vote in 2024 but aren't happy with their choices at the top of the ticket. Minnesota Senate DFL/CC0 1.0

Kevin Kansas is watching and waiting for politicians who care. The 22-year-old Arizona State University graduate will vote in November, but he’ll likely leave the top of his ballot blank.

Kansas lives in the Valley and is a registered Democrat but said he considers himself an independent. He cares about housing — an issue he’s worked on personally with Unemployed Workers United — as well as military spending on foreign wars and campaign finance reform.

But national politics have left him disenchanted. “I’m waiting for a politician that actually represents me,” Kansas said. “I’ve never had that.” Party politics, he said, are a “toxic mindset,” getting in the way of real change.

“How are you supposed to move forward?” Kansas asked. “How are you supposed to progress things if you have a bunch of evil money shadow puppets in Congress instead of people who care?”

Kansas is hardly unique among young voters in Arizona. A new study published by The Center for an Independent and Sustainable Democracy at ASU suggests there are many young adults just like him — those who are genuinely concerned about solving ongoing issues through democratic means but who feel disillusioned by the hollowness of party politics.

The study, titled “Frustrated but Engaged” and led by CISD co-director and ASU professor Thom Reilly, surveyed 1,315 registered Arizona voters between the ages of 20 and 30 via text messages and phone calls. Most come from the state’s urban centers, are white or Latino, and consider themselves “independent or unaffiliated” (40%) or Democrat (30%). Most interestingly, two-thirds of those Gen Z voters said they will vote this November.

But the question is for whom? Eighty percent of respondents said both the Republican and Democratic parties are out of touch with people their age, and the same percentage disagreed with the statement that both parties want what’s best for the country. What they care about most, in order, are the cost of living, affordable housing, protecting the water supply and health care.

They just don’t think the people in power will do anything about it.

“They’re just not buying the partisan divide and the polarization,” Reilly said. “But they’re still concerned about these issues.”

The political disillusionment felt by many Gen Z voters could affect down-ballot races as well as the presidential election. Benjamin Leatherman

A political bellwether

Getting young people excited about voting has always been a tough nut for politicians to crack.

Gen Z voters between the ages of 20 and 30 accounted for 19% of Arizona’s voting age population and 18% of the state’s registered voters in the 2022 midterms. But only 10% of ballots cast in that election came from that age group. According to a U.S Census report on the 2022 election, young voters have been underrepresented in every election on record compared with the voting-age population.

Notably, 2022 was an improvement on that trend. Nationally, that election saw the second-smallest underrepresentation of young voters in history, just behind the 2018 election. According to a report by CIRCLE, the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University, Gen Z voter turnout in 2022 was higher than Gen X and Millennial turnout when those generations were in the 18-24 age group.

But the trend toward independent affiliation is a bellwether for the future, Reilly said, and one he thinks should concern both Republicans and Democrats. Young people consistently have preferred the Democratic party over the GOP, according to another CIRCLE study. But despite trending more progressive and liberal, Gen Z voters rely increasingly less on parties to tell them how to vote.

That matches what Alberto Olivas has observed. Olivas is the executive director of ASU’s Pastor Center for Politics and Public Service, which works with students to increase civic participation. He’s found that high school and college students view both parties as “equally vitriolic and unproductive.” Never, he said, has he simultaneously seen this level of political interest in young people along with this level of “disaffection from traditional political levers of power.”

Olivas said important local issues can boost young voter participation — such as a likely ballot initiative in Arizona that could enshrine the right to abortion statewide — but said the malaise Gen Z may feel over their choices for president could lead them to ignore other ballot items that will affect their lives.

Though national politics sucks up all the oxygen, local and statewide races decide many of the issues that directly affect voters. By flipping the state Legislature, Arizona voters completely clear the party gridlock that has plagued the first two years of Gov. Katie Hobbs’ administration. The ballot also will include referenda that affect the minimum wage, immigration, the courts and how primaries and citizen initiatives operate.

Those races matter. Kansas hopes his generation knows that — even if they’re planning to sit out the presidential election like he is.

“There’s people out there that share my beliefs, I know that,” Kansas said. “I know that to be true, and one day maybe one of them will be in the position to fight.”

Arizona could see open primaries on the ballot this November, allowing independents to weigh in on presidential nominees

Posted by Cathy L. Stewart on July 11, 2024 at 9:00 AM

Originally aired July 3rd, 2024 on Cronkite News

(Video byAoife Kane/Cronkite News)

By Aoife Kane/Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – A campaign aiming to open Arizona’s primary elections filed its petition to qualify for the November ballot on Wednesday after collecting over 560,000 signatures.

If passed, the state constitutional amendment would let Arizona voters participate in primaries regardless of their party affiliation.

That would let more than 1.3 million independent voters who aren’t registered as a Republican or Democrat vote on those parties’ presidential primaries.

The office of the Secretary of State has up to 20 business days to certify the petition, but only 383,923 valid signatures are required.

Even if voters approve the amendment in November, it would be up to the Legislature – which is controlled by the two parties – to decide the mechanics of how nominees are picked for a general election.

If passed, the amendment would take effect in time for the 2026 primaries.

Fifteen states have some form of an open primary of the sort proposed for Arizona. In some, the top two vote-getters move on to the general election, regardless of party. Alaska uses a top-four system with ranked-choice voting. Louisiana has a ‘jungle’ system where the candidate who receives a majority of the votes progresses.

Independents outnumbered registered Republicans and Democrats in Arizona in 2023.

Under the state’s current semi-closed primary – a system similar to that used in most states – voters can only cast a ballot in a presidential primary if they register with the party.

Independents can vote in U.S. House and Senate races in Arizona, and in state legislative elections, without registering by party.

“Arizona is searching for new ways to engage in the political process,” said Jacqueline Salit, president of Independent Voting, a national strategy center for voters unaffiliated with a party.

“No taxation without representation – some of these things are very fundamental to American’s conceptions of democracy,” she said.

Most elections are decided in the primaries, because districts are carefully drawn to favor one party or the other. That leaves independent voters with little voice, she said.

Chuck Coughlin, the political consultant running the campaign to open Arizona primaries, said the abortion rights ballot measure will likely boost turnout, and that could have spillover benefits for his cause.

Donors have poured $7.5 million into the effort so far and Coughlin says he has commitments for up to $4 million more. The group had $2 million on hand at the end of April, according to its most recent campaign finance report

“Put the best candidates on the ballot. Let everybody vote. … Every election, every candidate, every election. We think that that notion of fairness will work very well with the electorate,” he said.

In addition to voting inside, Arizona residents were able to drop off their ballots at the entrance of Gila River Arena. (File photo by Michael Gutnick/Cronkite News

The only organized opposition to emerge so far has come from Republicans in legislative district 17, north of Tucson, who filed as an organization opposed to the initiative.

The state’s Republican and Democratic parties did not respond to requests for comment.

“The parties are very powerful,” Salit said, adding concern about the way partisan lawmakers might implement it. “Should it be a top two, a top three, a top five? … It kicks it to the Legislature, which is of course controlled by the parties.”

Younger voters are historically disinterested in politics, said Thom Reilly, co-director of Arizona State University’s Center for an Independent and Sustainable Democracy. But despite their dissatisfaction with the current system, many are more engaged than in previous generations.

In June, the center released findings that 95% of people aged 20 to 30 support equal access to voting regardless of party affiliation.

“They’re rejecting the two parties” and view “open access and equal access as important issues,” Reilly said, predicting that measures on open primaries and reproductive rights will boost turnout among younger voters.

Carrie Sackett, an independent Arizona voter who signed the ballot initiative petition, called it a no-brainer.

“We might have different opinions on different issues,” said Sackett, a life coach in Phoenix, but for independents, “what unites us all is we feel like the two political parties are failing the American people.”