Efforts to suppress the Gen Z vote are poking a bear

Don’t poke bears. It is a rule to live by, and I am thinking about it as I contemplate a wave of attacks around America on Gen Z voting rights. 

I lead a nonpartisan young women’s political empowerment organization. Our fellows run voter turnout and democracy engagement chapters in American colleges. Right now, too many people are trying to make it harder for Gen Z women, especially college students, to vote. Speaking with them over recent weeks, I realize the bear is awake, and instead of getting mad, it is about to get even at the polls. 

Idaho has banned voting with student IDs. Texas legislators have introduced a bill forbidding polling locations on college campuses. And Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has a similar bill now on his desk, which he should veto for the sake of voter rights. For the third time in three years, the Florida legislature has passed a bill with more barriers to voting. 

A major target is Gen Z college students. The Florida bill forces first-time voters to provide a verified Social Security number, a valid state-issued driver’s license, or a Florida ID card to vote by mail. It would also force students to register to vote every year. Bills like these create barriers for young people, making it especially difficult to vote for those who are new to a state or have recently turned 18. The bill would also make it harder for organizations to run voter drives by imposing high fines for misregistering someone by accident. Voter drives are essential for increasing voter turnout. It is especially true among underrepresented groups like young people. 

Against this depressing backdrop, something else more exciting is happening. Gen Z cis and trans women, as well as non-binary people, are redefining politics. They are less interested in voting on party lines than their forebears. Instead, they tend to identify with the party that is most engaged on the issues they care about. Alongside millennials, Gen Z is on the way to becoming part of the largest voting bloc. So, instead of seeking to suppress their votes, it makes strategic sense to engage. 

When the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision came down, I said it would “politically enrage a generation of young women.” Then, Gen Z swept the 2022 midterms. Gen Z has continued to be decisive in 2023 votes, for example, in Wisconsin’s April landslide election of a judge who supports abortion rights. They care, too, about health care, mass shootings and mental health. 

They do not like it when people try to stop them from voting. Not with 2023 set to be a record year for mass shootings. Not with young women’s mental health at record lows. Not with bills criminalizing medical providers for following established standards of care. The stakes are too high for them. 

Being serious: Why would you provoke a group with such power and motivation to rebuke you? 

My sense is that, in the past, people have regarded young voters — and women, in particular — as no threat. In some quarters, that may still be the case. Society has stereotypes about young women as being deferential. But those stereotypes are out of date. And there is a remarkable thing about representative democracy. All women get a vote —  whether they are dangerous or otherwise.

We have come so far since the passing of the 19th Amendment. Yet, it still might be another 118 years until we have gender parity in Congress, at the current rate. Still, women voters signed up at record rates following the Dobbs decision. And research shows women are more likely to vote in subsequent elections after they vote once because there is a strong case for voting being a habit. It is one of the reasons it is so important that we encourage young women to vote early. Their impact works for generations.

When I hear from young women at colleges across America about the prospects for the upcoming election cycle, I am inspired. This is only the latest in a string of efforts to silence their voices, but they’re still fighting. 

America, you poked the bear. It is already too late to stop the consequences. 

Sara Guillermo is CEO of IGNITE, a nonpartisan organization devoted to young women’s political empowerment.