LOUISVILLE, Ky. — One in ten eligible voters this election is a part of Generation Z, according to the Pew Research Center.
People in Gen Z are born in 1996 of after.
This new generation of voters is bringing their own politics to the polls.
Hannah Elble just turned 18 this October and registered to vote. She plans to vote on Election Day.
“I always want to have a say in who’s going to represent me,” Elble said.
Elble is one of the youngest voters in this year’s election. But she says politics have become part of her and her friends lives.
“Its everyday, day to day, conversation,” Elble said.
Elbe is a senior at Southern High School. She says at school, the teachers relate a lot of the lessons to the real world, and what is happening in today’s society.
According to a Harvard poll, young Americans are expected to turn out to the polls this year in a higher number than in 2008, which had a historically high number of young voters.
In this recent poll, 63% of respondents people ages 18 to 29 said they will “definitely be voting,” and in contrast to 47% during this same time in 2016.
“I think that its going to be the first time you really hear the voices of the younger people in this capacity,” 25-year-old Sarah Good said.
Good is voting for the first time this election too. Good is in the Millennial generation but registered after graduating from Bellarmine and getting a permanent address.
“At this point, every vote counts in a way and makes a difference in the long run,” Good said. “Even if you don’t see it directly, it really does matter.”
Millennials, Gen Z, and Gen X voters in the 2018 midterm election accounted for the majority of the country’s votes, according to Pew. The younger generations also outvoted the older in 2016.
Elble has been waiting to vote for a long time. Now she and her peers have the chance to take part in important decisions and tell the country what they want to see happen.
“I feel like if we all group together then we can really change what’s been going on for years and years and years,” Elble said.
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