July 28, 2023
Do you know the power of your vote? Millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, and Generation Z (Gen Z), born between 1997 and 2012, are quickly rising up in politics and making up 37% of the electorate. That’s not far behind the older generation as Axios reported, “In 2016, boomers and other older generations accounted for 43% of eligible voters, but cast 49% of the ballots.”
You might look at terms such as ‘Gen Z’ and ‘Millennial’ and instinctively roll your eyes, but this energetic community of young adults is turning out historically high numbers at the polls even during midterm elections. Since participating in elections, it has been shown that Gen Z and Millennials care about the state of our nation and social issues, including abortion, rank highly among them.
According to past exit polls reported by NPR, they’re turning out in states with important electoral relevance such as Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, and others. In some of these key states, there was a 31% aggregate of youth voters. This figure is impressive when you consider other factors competing for the time and attention of America’s rising generation.
So, what’s on their minds and bringing them to the voting box? We know that these young voters care about service and human rights. According to a post-election Gen Z study by the Walton Family Foundation,
“Gen Z was the only generational cohort to rank abortion (29%) as the political issue they were most concerned about [bold added] when casting their ballot in the 2022 midterm, followed by the economy and inflation (12% combined).”
The younger Gen Z population cared about abortion more at the ballot than Millennials, though it is still a priority issue of theirs. They learn about these issues mostly through social media as NPR exclusively reported a survey proving, “Gen Z primarily relies on social media for news instead of more traditional media platforms.”
It makes sense that Gen Z and Millennials are slower to turn on the local news rather than click through X (formerly Twitter) and Threads to see what their peers are saying about social issues.
That’s where Students for Life Action (SFLAction) and Students for Life of America (SFLA) come along. Representing the nation as the largest student based pro-life organization, we know a thing or two about what Gen Z and Millennials are facing on campus when it comes to abortion, free speech, and politics.
We utilize our social media platforms to reach hundreds of thousands, and at times millions, of viewers to spread accurate reporting on abortion. There’s a lot of noise on social media which is why we make sure to react and respond to some of the biggest headlines hitting their feeds in any given day.
And we know they care about abortion in the elections and want to know how their representative voted or what a candidates’ view on abortion is so we give them a place for activism.
SFLAction engages with thousands of student volunteers and activists who want to canvass their communities, attend townhalls, and be equipped with the best knowledge on abortion so they can accurately defend their position while questioning political leaders on theirs.
The strategic grassroots movement of SFLAction has narrowed in on these Gen Z and Millennial voters because we know how concerned they are about abortion from a moral and human rights standpoint.
(CLICK HERE to read SFLA’s Insitute of Pro-Life Advancement poll for more details on how the younger generation votes on abortion.)
SFLAction not only helps these young adults engage in their election process, but the organization also signs people up to vote, gathers at trainings, mobilizes to expose pro-abortion politicians or defend pro-life champions, and gives guided purpose for those wanting to take their pro-life convictions to Congress.
In the past year, SFLAction has had 24 of their alumni run for office with another 30 student leaders elected to their campus student government. We have a feeling Gen Z and Millennials are just getting started but will have a big impact shaping the future of American politics, with special focus on the top human rights issue of our day – abortion.
There’s no doubt that Gen Z and Millennials are tuned in; the next time you see one “aimlessly” scrolling on their phone, they might actually be consuming information from their peers on some of the biggest social issues facing our nation, and SFLAction/SFLA are ready to engage with them.
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