Some editorial writers are keen to describe the looming midterms as "the inflation election." Then again, their average readers are millionaires by household net worth. They skew 62 percent male and in their 40s. The last time I checked, the great thing about America is that it's a democracy. It includes non-millionaires. It includes women. It includes young people. It may still be news to some people, but Generation Z is increasingly influencing the outcome of elections.
Not only is our democracy diverse – the power and importance of the youth vote is also increasing. Gen Z and millennial voters will soon dominate the electorate. And particularly among those voters, we can't assume the issues dominating the stuffier editorials are all that count. My organization, Ignite, ran a comprehensive research survey of Gen Z youth recently and its findings were stark.
Members of Gen Z are almost twice as likely to turn out and vote this year than they were in 2018, from 35 percent to 59 percent. While inflation appears to be the leading issue motivating young voters, when you take cisgender men out of the equation, the results offer a notable contrast. For young women as well as trans and gender-nonconforming people, the top issues skew differently. Health care, mass shootings, mental health, racial inequity and abortion are their top motivators.
