Most young people who come to Daniel Solis-Corona tell him that they do not know who to vote for or think they can’t vote because they have been charged with felonies in the past. When he tables with Make Voting a Tradition, a program launched by the Native American Community Development Institute, his role is to help young voters register and to inform people with previous felonies that in Minnesota they have the right to vote.
“I feel that a lot of people who are younger, or around my age, sometimes it is hard to listen to people who are a lot older than you,” said Solis-Corona, 20. “You feel that you don’t relate to them.”
Solis-Corona, who is of Mexican and Native American descent, grew up in the Little Earth community in south Minneapolis and voted for the first time two years ago. He used to think that his vote did not matter, until he discussed this issue with his mother. They now table side by side.
In Minnesota, Gen Z voters, the oldest of whom are 27 this year, are expected to be a crucial voting bloc in this fall’s election. While some are opting out or voting third party because of their frustration with the Democratic and Republican front-runners, the state’s young voters will likely turn out at the polls.
In the 2020 election, 65% of eligible young voters in Minnesota cast a ballot, while the national average only reached 50%. In the 2022 midterms, Minnesota had the third-highest youth voter turnout in the country.
A recent report from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tufts University ranked Minnesota sixth nationally in “youth electoral significance,” meaning Gen Z Minnesotans have the potential to influence the state’s presidential pick, as well as key down-ballot races. Key issues for this group, many organizers say, include reproductive rights, the U.S. involvement in the war on Gaza, climate change and housing.
Mannie Bioh is the co-founder of Believe in What’s Possible (BIWP), a youth-led nonpartisan nonprofit working to increase voter participation among the youngest Minnesota voters. Through their youth engagement, Bioh has learned more about why youth feel disillusioned with the upcoming elections in November.
“When it comes to issues like systemic violence such as police brutality, climate change, international relations such as the genocide happening in different places like Gaza and the Congo — I think it is creating somewhat of a hardship and a frustration within young people to see how various politicians locally and nationally are addressing the issues,” said Bioh.
As a part of their role, Bioh goes to places around the Twin Cities with high attendance of Gen Zers and talks to them about what makes those spaces special and meaningful, then aims to recreate those spaces in a political context. In August, BIWP organized a “Do it for the Ballot” Day Party three days ahead of the primary elections with local DJs, games, food and free transportation to polling locations.
‘A lot of anxiety’
In Minnesota, more than half a million Gen Zers are registered to vote. Last Tuesday, the University of Minnesota held a pop-up voting site for the first time, after a 2023 law allowed on campus early voting sites.
Mi Gente Latinx Center at the University of Minnesota organized a phone bank and called voters to encourage them to cast their ballot. Gabriel Granillo, co-president of the organization, votes in his home state in Arizona. He is engaged in the upcoming election because he is concerned about how the 47th president could potentially shape future Supreme Court rulings.
“We have a really conservative SCOTUS right now and I think Roe v. Wade getting overturned that easily is really scary for other landmark cases,” he said. He is afraid that Obergefell v. Hodges could also be overturned, opening the door for some states to ban on same-sex marriage. As a gay man himself, he hopes to get married in the future. Granillo added that access to reproductive care and decreasing the cost of college are high-stakes issues for him.
Emiliano Rosales Ramirez, co-cultural director of Mi Gente, cannot vote due to his status as a lawful permanent resident, but is anxious when it comes to the elections. “For most people looking into America, it seems like the election should be clear-cut, right?” he said, referring to former President Donald Trump’s felonies.“But the race is actually very, very divided, and it’s hard to know the outcome. So there’s a lot of anxiety going on right now and a bit of fear.”
The pool of young voters is more racially diverse than other generations, bringing forward different issues. Unidos MN has launched a program to reach out to young Latino voters, in southwest metro suburbs.
To Veva Garcia, who organizes this outreach, educating young people on how to vote is a way for the community to be heard since they are more likely to be U.S. citizens than their elders.
“They are the voice of their parents, parents who work and bring a lot to this nation,” Garcia said. “Thus, I can tell with certainty that the Latino vote will be an important part in this election.”
Neither party fits
The only time Sydney Ockenga felt good during this presidential campaign was when they voted “Uncommitted” during the primaries. Their choice between the two main candidates is not clear-cut.
“I feel like no matter where my vote goes, it’ll have to be towards whoever I see is the less evil,” said Ockenga, 26. “Is it going to make me sleep at night better? Probably not.”
Originally from the Flandreau Santee Sioux Indian Reservation in South Dakota, Ockenga lives, works and votes in Minnesota. To Ockenga, the Democratic Party shows the Republicans as the worst evil.
“That just feels like a kind of a backhanded thing to try to convince us all to vote for them, even though they’re not offering us anything,” said Ockenga, who would like to see candidates address and act on housing, student loans, and the U.S. involvement in Gaza.
“I think it is a big blunder to not pay attention to young people and their demands,” said Twin Cities organizer Sean Lim. “What you are seeing is young people peeling away from the Democratic Party,” he added.
The Republican party is also losing support among some younger voters. Solis-Corona likes Trump’s message on the economy and would have voted for him if not for his criminal record.
“I’m not going to lie, I’m liking everything he’s talking about,” said Solis-Corona. “But I would not feel right with myself putting my vote for him.”
A painful choice
“I just don’t want to deal with any of them,” said University of Minnesota computer science student Hanad Ali, 22. Ali said when he was growing up, his family leaned Democratic because of promises made to support new immigrants. Ali is changing that voting tradition this year. “I don’t feel comfortable voting for two people who are both complicit in a genocide that’s going on,” Ali said. “Both of them defend Israel, and both of them try to make an excuse.”
Kowsar Hirsi, a second-year student at Minneapolis College is also sitting out this election because of U.S. funding to Israel. “I don’t stand for genocide. And I don’t think I want to vote because I feel like whatever decision I make, whoever I vote for is going to contribute to that,” she said.
Hirsi said she would like to see viable third parties that could compete with the Democratic and Republican parties and give voters a true choice.
“I just wish that there was a lot more options,” she said.
“I think a lot of people are really beginning to question if a party system works in the ways that it showcases their beliefs and what they want for their future,” Bioh said.
That is one reason Lim is more excited about local than federal races. “I think that policies are most impactful on people’s standard of living the more local you get,” he said, pointing to Minneapolis school board races as one example.
With his experience engaging in various forms of political action, Lim knows that voting is not the only tool in the hands of the Gen Z.
“We have lobbying, mutual aid, direct action,” he said. “And I think that voting only gets us so far, it needs to be a combination of these tools that actually wins us the city that we deserve.”
