On Tuesday, Nov 5th, 2024 the world waited impatiently for the number of votes that will determine the outcome of this election. According to Columbia Magazine, eight million members of Gen Z are now able to vote in the upcoming election.
We’ve probably all seen advertisements, signs and pins saying to vote, but why is voting so important?
Voting gives you the opportunity to be heard and it changes the path for the future generations. Voting allows you to make change in your community, it decides where your tax dollars should go and so much more – just a few votes can change the entire course of the election.
Senior Alex Gil said, “It [voting] determines the future of the country,”
Both candidates have different beliefs and values, Trump is described as someone who is nationalist. He is strongly against gun control, one of the most polarizing issues in politics. The National Rifle Association (NRA) endorsed Trump in May. Trump has mentioned the NRA many times, including in 2022 – only a little while after the Uvalde mass shooting.
Trump stated that he would, “terminate every single one of the Harris-Biden’s attacks on law-abiding gun owners his first week in office and stand up for our constitutionally enshrined right to bear arms.”
Harris has openly opposed Trump’s beliefs on guns. She vows to take action on guns and states that she would, “put background checks into full effect,” when it comes to the purchasing of guns.
At the presidential debate in September, Harris told Trump, “we’re not taking anybody’s guns away, so stop with the continuous lying about this stuff.”
Abortion is also a highly debated issue and could influence voters’ decisions in the election.
Trump has had shifting views on this issue which has confused many voters, but he openly takes credit for the overturning of Roe V. Wade. However his wife Melania Trump disagrees with her husband and defends abortion.
“Why should anyone other than the woman herself have the power to determine what she does with her own body? A woman’s fundamental right of individual liberty, to her own life, grants her the authority to terminate her pregnancy if she wishes,” she said.
Harris is pro-choice and believes that, “a woman should be able to make choices about her own body.”
So where do Gen Z and younger voters stand on these issues?
According to the role that social media has played in politics, it is estimated that the majority of Gen Z – around 73% support the right to have abortion. Gen Z For Change, for example, is an organization that has platforms on major social media sites and supports abortion, immigration, and the LGBTQ+ community.
Social media plays a big role in affecting young voters, the candidates’ social media accounts have been using trends as a way to get younger votes and support. For example, Kamala Harris has become viral from the “brat” trend so popular. Charli XCX, the creator of the song, even posted “Kamala IS brat” on X. Kamala HQ, Harris’s business changed their X banner to “kamala hq” but with the colors and font that was on brat’s song cover. Trump has also gained popularity from X, (formally Twitter) when he joined the platform in 2009. All of these factors make a various outcome for the election, as younger generation can easily be influenced by social media, from both party’s.