It is common knowledge that politics is a recurring conversation in newsrooms because of the nation’s heightened political climate and on-going coverage of election news by different media outlets. As a Gen Z student editor for Viewpoints and a journalism major, I am constantly updated on the latest news around candidates, administrations and general politics.
However, when it comes to conversations outside of the newsroom with friends and peers, it’s a different story. They wait until the last minute to think about who they should vote for and say they do not know anything about the candidates. Ultimately, they do not end up voting.
Those friends and peers have sparked the question: Do they choose to be ignorant and not educate themselves on politics? Or, could it be that as a student journalist, I am simply too aware of my interest in the coverage I report on? Which leads me to think if Gen Z apathetic to voting, despite being known to be politically active?
This indifference needs to change.
A research study conducted by Data USA showed that the median age of voters in Riverside County was 37. That shows that young adults aged 18 to their late twenties are not close to the average age of voters.
There are approximately 250,000 adults aged 18 to 25 living in Riverside County, according to SHAPE Riverside County, but there were only 190,949 registered voters from that group of adults according to election.gov. Therefore, there were about 59,000 missing votes. I even know some people personally who chose not to vote.
On Riverside City College’s campus, I talked to students who said they did not vote in the last presidential election in 2024. A common reason they cited was being too busy to make it to the polls on election day. Most students did tell me that they are moderately into politics and think there are a lot of media sources to get more educated on candidates and policies.
Even if you are too busy, there are many ways to vote in a timely manner, including early voting, mail-in ballots and drop-offs. We also know voting comes around the same time every year, whether it’s local elections or the presidential election every four years.
Eric Molina, a 22-year-old Riverside County resident, chose not to vote because he is not into politics or educated enough on either party.
“I choose ignorance. I am not even going to sugarcoat it. How will my one vote change things?” Molina said.
In a previous study done by the Grand Bargain Project, they found that Gen Z had the lowest turnout for voting, with only 20 million votes, despite more than double that amount being eligible. More people in Gen Z voted in the 2020 Presidential election. The Grand Bargain Project reached the conclusion that it is not apathy that holds Gen Z back from voting, because they are engaged in social media and do care.
They concluded that much of Gen Z does not think their vote will make a difference.
News publications such as Calmatters make easy-to-read voter guides for people to learn about current elections step by step.
The County of Riverside Registrar of Voters also makes voter information guides for citizens to stay up to date with every election from local politics to nationwide, as well as dropbox links to candidates, policies and other related information.
I cannot change someone’s mind to thinking that their vote will make a difference, but I believe it is our duty as citizens to at least try to make our voices heard when the opportunity is given. Gen Z could still choose to try to motivate themselves to believe that their vote counts. Gen Z is one of the most politically active generations, so they should hold themselves accountable for learning and going through the act of voting.
