Almost half of Gen Z respondents in a newly published UCLA study said they were not motivated to vote at all in the 2024 presidential election prior to Kamala Harris’ nomination.
Researchers note that there has been a growing interest in Harris’ candidacy with over half of Gen Z respondents who stay informed about the news now indicating they will now vote for Harris in November. Still, almost three-quarters of those who don’t follow the news say they will not vote for Harris or are unsure of who they will vote for.
“Young adults are increasingly getting news from TikTok, reporting social media as the most authentic form of media,” said Dr. Yalda Uhls, founder and CEO of the UCLA Center for Scholars & Storytellers and co-author of the study. “Our data shows that young people are very engaged with what’s happening in the political sphere around them, and keeping up with the news seems to be influencing their desire to vote for Kamala Harris,” said Uhls, who is also an adjunct professor in UCLA’s Department of Psychology
For young people interested in voting for Harris, her identity as a woman of color didn’t seem to be a huge motivating factor, according to the study. In fact, 82.7% of Gen Z respondents cited reasons other than Harris’ racial or gender identity to explain their support for her, including “I agree with her stance on most issues,” “She’s an exciting candidate that gives me hope” and “I like what I’ve seen about her on social media.”
Results from the study also showed more diversity across party lines, with 15.5% of Black Gen Zers and 16.5% of Black millennials identifying as Republican. Young Black Gen Zers, for example, overwhelmingly expressed confidence in the political system. When asked how confident they are in the political system to take care of them and their family’s interests, 77.7% of African American Gen Z respondents indicated they were either “somewhat confident” or “very confident.” This finding was a stark contrast to another recent poll featuring older generations which found two-thirds of Black Americans believe the U.S. political system was designed to hold them back.
“For young people today, who grew up seeing Barack Obama in the White House, diversity is the norm, not the exception,” Uhls said. “These findings indicate a shift in how the next generation is moving away from identity politics and polarization, possibly towards an exciting new era of collaboration and consensus across party lines.”
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