- Speaker #0
Like, since we started, since I started learning about politics, we've been extremely polarized and it's only gotten worse. And I think that definitely impacts how willing young people are to engage and also when they do engage, what is the change that they want to see?
- Speaker #1
You're listening to Beyond the Ballot AZ. I'm Tom Collins, Executive Director of the Arizona Clean Elections Commission.
- Speaker #2
And I'm Gina Roberts, Voter Education Director.
- Speaker #1
Voting is a lifelong habit, and we've seen that if we can get people involved in the political process when they're younger, it really sticks with them for the rest of their lives. That's why we focus so much on building the connection between young people and the political process as early as we can.
- Speaker #2
Right, and young people make up something like 20% of the Arizona population. So when they're politically active, we get to hear their perspectives, and they play an active role in shaping the future.
- Speaker #1
So, Gina, what was the first election memory you had? as a, when you were a young voter?
- Speaker #2
I actually remember my going to vote with my mom. We went to the polling place together, which was a church, like literally, you know, steps from, from our house. And it wasn't very busy, but I got to walk in there and I was excited because I researched, I knew who I was going to vote for. And when my mom took me, you know, guided me through this, what you do, how you get your ballot there, filled it out. And I was done. And it was, you know, I've done it ever since. I think that whole going with a parent really has an impact for our youth. So parents out there, you can absolutely bring your children with you into the polling place.
- Speaker #1
So today we're talking about exactly that. How do we get young people engaged as voters and active in their community through civic participation? We are here with Nivea Krishnan. She is a senior advisor to new voters. Nivea, thanks for joining Beyond the Ballot AZ.
- Speaker #0
Thanks for having me.
- Speaker #1
I was hoping you could start by talking to us about how you've seen young people being or becoming civically engaged.
- Speaker #0
Yeah, that's a great question. I think, especially growing up in Arizona, so I've lived here pretty much my whole life, I think it's been cool to see a lot of young people leaning more into the civic space. And I think it's been a large... largely a process of self-discovery. At least in school, there wasn't too much curriculum, enough, in my opinion, for me to be super invested in civics. It was a very kind of high-level explanation of how the government is structured. So I think right now, young people in our state are kind of developing their civic identities outside of school, more leaning into their community pockets, be it religious groups or faith-based organizations or just community service. And so I think right now that's how young people in the state are kind of leaning into their sort of civic responsibility. And it's been something that's been really cool to see over the past few years, I would say.
- Speaker #2
That's amazing because, you know, one of the things we talk about a lot is, you know, democracy doesn't end at the ballot box. And so, you know, civic engagement is more than voting. Voting is absolutely amazing and very important. But again, civic engagement, there can be so many ways that you can show up for your community. But how are we seeing Gen Z show up? in the political process? So whether that's, you know, voting or, you know, if they're old enough running for office, things like that. And how does that compare to other generations?
- Speaker #0
That's a good question. I think, obviously, we're just starting to see the first sort of wave of Gen Zers that are eligible to run for office, just age wise, at least for the big high profile, like congressional races. And I think you've seen a lot of it's almost a pipeline of young people that started off being very vocal. So pre their eligibility to vote, it was them like going to town halls in their communities. We're seeing that right now with Gen Zers on the younger side of our generation who are still in high school, like showing up at school board meetings, also joining organizing groups that they identify with based on the policy issues that they care about. And you're sort of seeing a pipeline from those young people that have been honing their skills in terms of advocacy and public speaking and public advocacy before their ability to vote. now then transitioning into taking more sort of high profile roles in the political space. So joining campaign teams, as well as even running for office themselves. And I think in terms of previous generations, I would argue that previous generations, when they were younger, were just as engaged. I mean, we've seen a lot of ebbs and flows in the course of history, but I think every decade or so you've seen some type of activation around young people. So I think generally it has been young people at the forefront of movements, but that's not to discredit previous generations at all, because I think when they were younger, they also you have a little more flexibility to kind of lean into the political space. You know, the real world isn't hitting you as hard in terms of a lot of bills that you have to pay, as I'm now realizing, you know, joining the workforce. So I think young people have that flexibility. That I think is always really cool to see in terms of how they lean into that politically.
- Speaker #2
That's a really great point, because I think, you know, what we see time over time is that this demographic typically has the lower turnout. So I think, you know, you're right on there. And I think Arizona in particular, Circle was reporting that our younger voters had a turnout rate of about 47 percent in this last 2024 election cycle. So that's, you know, it's a pretty good number. Obviously, we want to see those numbers climb higher. but But that's still pretty amazing to see those numbers for this group.
- Speaker #0
Yeah, absolutely. It's fantastic. I'm not surprised. I'm not surprised.
- Speaker #1
You know, one of the things that folks that work in elections or around civic issues have tried to sort of figure out is what are the different issues that sort of impact younger voters? There seems to be a little bit of a divide between folks who were in maybe Just before high school or in high school before COVID and those after, right? So that sort of 18 to 22 year old versus 22 to 25 year old group. You know, what are some of the things that you see affecting how Gen Z voters get engaged?
- Speaker #0
Yeah, I think I think there's a few things. I mean, I think the the political polarization that has kind of dominated our entire political conscience, like since we started since I started learning about politics. we've been extremely polarized and it's only gotten worse. And I think that definitely impacts how willing young people are to engage. And also when they do engage, what is the change that they want to see? Like, I think young people are kind of craving a new sort of energy. And I think the mayoral race, the primary in New York city was a great example of that is what does tapping into, what does a new sort of politics look like? I think young people are honestly just pretty. tired of the way that things have currently been operating, which I think is interesting to also talk to different pockets of young people. You know, you have one pocket of which I would say the majority, you know, average young person looking for jobs, trying to build their careers, whatever form that might be. And then you also have this pocket of young people that maybe are super interested in politics. And that's also been interesting to see what type of politics they want to see, because those are the people that are going to join these campaigns are going to become staffers. I think collectively there is a sense of like, we don't care what the old playbook was. Like obviously things have changed so much to the point where we need a new playbook. So I think as a general collective, that's how I would kind of brand the way young people are approaching politics now.
- Speaker #1
So one of the things that, you know, we talk about and we've talked about on the podcast and we talk about in general is, and it's interesting to talk about community engagement, local engagement, is this sort of notion that there's going to be a magic way. to unpack the technological change and the way that young people sort of mediate with the world that we're all going to be able to somehow find. Do you think that that's a good question or do you think that that's kind of missing the point?
- Speaker #0
I think it might be missing the point to the extent that I think it's less about trying to discover sort of how or to try and remedy the current way that technology is. impacting us versus the bigger question of how can we train ourselves and other young people to be more intentional with how they interact with these mediums because I think the reality is like in this society where technocrats kind of are dictating everything it's in my mind a little we're too behind the curve to be like oh now we have to start regulating this at the point where all these safeguards for consumers are being taken away or whatever you want to call it like the reality is that we are behind the curve in terms of how we adapt to these technological changes. And so I think the more valuable question is, what does it mean to educate people, young people, but also obviously, like everyone needs to be educated about this. Young people are just the easiest to reach because they're in a structured like school environment. But what does it mean to remind people that critical thinking is our superpower, that like that's what makes us human and like that's what we need to protect. And it only becomes more crucial to protect it the more you engage with technology that's trying to supplant that. And I think that's what another thing I think about a lot, yeah, is reminding people that it is a form of empowerment to have ownership over your thinking and what that means when you interact with technology is another important question for young people.
- Speaker #1
Well, thank you very much. Nivea Krishnan is a senior advisor for new voters. And thanks very much for joining us today.
- Speaker #0
Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.
- Speaker #1
No matter your age, there are ways for you to get involved in the political process. Even if you can't vote yet, there are opportunities like being a poll worker. And that means you get to be a part of the process.
- Speaker #2
There's tons of easy to understand resources out there to get young people involved in civics. We have our youth voters resource page at azcleanelections.gov and that covers how parents, high school students, college students, and teachers can get involved. It's really a great resource. For example, you know, right now we know that schools are starting. If you're a college student and you've, you know, are living on campus or you're no longer at your parents' home and you need to get a ballot to you, we've got the information on our website to show you how that process goes. We make it very easy so you can stay informed and get your ballot. That's it for today's Beyond the Ballot AZ. I'm Gina Roberts.
- Speaker #1
And I'm Tom Collins. We'll see you next time.
