Beyond clubs promoting their next meeting and DoorDash handing out free Crumbl cookies, another organization is tabling across campus this election season: voter registration drives.
Allison Minnerly, communications director for People Power for Florida, often hands out registration forms to students meandering between classes in Turlington, urging them to take two minutes to start the process.
People Power for Florida is one of many nonpartisan voter registration organizations popping up on college campuses across Florida. While the organization doesn’t tie itself to any political party, it often advocates alongside “Yes on 4” abortion rights campaigners and also advocates for LGBTQ+ rights and other liberally aligned issues.
With the voter registration deadline swiftly approaching, Minnerly said she felt the urgency of getting the younger voting blocs involved.
Oct. 7 marks the final day for new voter registrations in Florida for the Nov. 5 general election. Forms can be filled out in person with a voter registration organization or done through the Florida voter webpage.
Minnerly said she’s frustrated by recent Florida legislation that restricted voting access across the state, especially in younger populations. From contesting the eligibility of on-campus polling locations to making organizations jump through hoops to accept registrations, Minnerly said there has been increasing difficulty surrounding civic participation.
“It's all by design,” she said, “but it's so important that young people know that their vote is their voice, and if it didn't matter, they wouldn't be trying so hard to suppress it.”
The Gen Z cohort encompasses voters aged 18 to 27, though some members of Gen Z are still too young to vote. One trend Minnerly has noticed within the age group is a tendency to choose no party affiliation, or NPA, rather than electing to align with a political party.
In an April 2024 poll from the Pew Research Center, only 52% of voters under 25 reported they aligned with the Republican or Democratic party. In comparison, the same poll showed 77% of people 80 years of age or older had strict party affiliation.
Younger generations are more likely to be motivated by issues rather than partisanship, which may explain the gravitation toward NPA, Voters of Tomorrow deputy press secretary Jessica Siles said.
Voters of Tomorrow is a national organization focused on engaging young people in politics. Despite being non-partisan, the organization is anti-Project 2025 due to a shift in youth bases toward democratic-leaning policies, Siles said.
Ahead of the November election, the organization has done mail and phone campaigns in the Gainesville area, Siles said.
“I think Gen Z, we have so much empathy as a generation…being exposed to so many different people of different backgrounds and different perspectives at all times,” Siles said.
Voter apathy among younger populations is a constant battle, Siles said. In presidential elections dating back to 1964, ages 18 to 24 have historically had the lowest voter turnout among all demographics, according to January 2024 data from Statista. However, Siles hopes that the November election will prove different.
Voter turnout has been increasing in younger populations, Siles said. The 2020 general election cycle showed the highest engagement of the century among the demographic. According to data from the UF election lab, the 2020 election brought 66% youth turnout, compared to turnouts of about 60% in 2016 and 59% in 2012.
“In the last few cycles, we've seen that [voter apathy] narrative kind of change in young people really showing up and understanding what's at stake,” she said. “I definitely think we're going to see more of that change and hopefully another record-breaking youth turnout this election.”
Voters of Tomorrow has contacted potential voters by mail, text, phone calls, on the ground, on campuses and online. The goal, Siles said, is to reach out in as many ways to as many different demographics as possible.
Beyond registration, other organizations on UF’s campus are trying to create an easier voting process during election season. GenVote Gators, a youth-led organization, is dedicated to defending the rights of voters in Gainesville, club member Jake Roberts said.
The 19-year-old UF political science sophomore said the organization’s current goal is to recruit volunteers to make sure everything goes smoothly at polling locations.
GenVote assists people who might be confused about how to vote or Spanish speakers who need language translation assistance, Roberts said.
As a member of Gen Z himself, Roberts said he understands how some of his fellow students may feel politically disengaged. While many people feel like their vote doesn’t count, he said, each vote does matter.
In the electoral college system, presidential races can be decided by margins of less than 50,000 votes in some swing states. When those states sway between parties, the entire election can flip, Roberts said.
“Our vote does, in fact, count,” he said. “So many people have worked for so long to try and protect that right to vote. I think it should be really something that we hold sacred to our democracy and to our values as Americans.”
Contact Morgan Vanderlaan at mvanderlaan@alligator.org. Follow her on X @morgvande.
Morgan Vanderlaan is a second year Political Science major and the Fall 2024 Politics Enterprise Reporter. When she's not on the clock she can be found writing, reciting, and watching theatre!
