Over the past few elections, voter turnout has hit record numbers. In 2020 alone, 154.6 million people voted for who they wanted as the next President of the United States; 17 million more than the previous election. But, when it comes to individual states’ elections, the turnout isn’t quite as high. With a new generation of voters voicing their opinions and getting involved, younger generations are becoming more aware of the political climate and how they can get out and make their voices heard. As November approaches, each candidates’ election campaign is in full gear, trying to get out and persuade voters in their favor.

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The minimum voting age in the U.S. is 18. This allows, at the lowest, seniors in high school to vote. This generation of voters are the most hopeful since it will impact their lives for a longer period of time than those of an older generation. Senior Tyler Nelson said, “I simply hope for one thing – a peaceful election without either side throwing a fit or wanting to overturn the results.” This comes at a time when congress is still holding hearings for the January 6 Capitol riot and possible Donald Trumps influence as a reaction to the 2020 election.

Tyler went on to say, “I am also hopeful that this election will bring about positive change in our government.” While the phrase “positive change” is subjective, all voters are, at the bare minimum, hoping that whoever is elected or re-elected will do their best at keeping their promise and set out to accomplish what is for the better of the country

Nelson, who is a newly registered voter, is just one of the millions of Gen Z voters who are able to vote for the first time this year. It’s no surprise that Gen Z is nicknamed “iGen”, a play on the iPhone. With the rise of technology, comes the rise of the dreaded social media. Social media can play a huge role in getting young kids out to vote. Whether it’s a positive or negative way, it can still influence and could possibly swing an election into another candidate’s favor.

     Tyler, who is no stranger to social media, said, “I think social media played a huge role in getting the younger population motivated to get out and vote. These days, a lot of time is spent on our phones and plenty of talk about politics is all over social media.” Social media is sort of a blessing and a curse when it comes to the political landscape. While candidates use it to get their message out, others use it to bash their opponents. “Being exposed over and over to information about the election may cause more young people to get out and vote.” 

When it comes to voting, the main cause as to why people don’t vote is because they believe their vote doesn’t matter. The electoral college leads Americans to believe that their vote is rendered useless due to it only coming down to the magic number of 270. But, when you take a step down the ladder to the smaller races, every vote does matter. Tyler said, “Yes. I do believe every vote counts in some fashion. I personally believe that if you cast a vote for a third party candidate, your vote may not mean as much, but I do believe getting out and voting is a very important part in America.” The last Pennsylvania gubernatorial race was won by incumbent, Tom Wolf, by about 860,000 votes. That may not seem like a lot, but in terms of only Pennsylvania, that gave Wolf a 17% victory over his rival.

With election day looming, candidates of all congressional positions are scrambling to assure they have the votes to bring home the victory. Doug Mastriano and Josh Shapiro are running for governorship of Pennsylvania while John Fetterman is taking on Mehmet Oz for a seat on the Senate. Get out and vote to make your voice heard!