Gen Z vote could shape midterm elections
BERKELEY - Born between 1997 and 2012, Gen Zers could be pivotal in the 2022 midterm elections -- if they show up to the polls.
This is the time of year when Alex Edgar is knee deep in midterm exams. But these days, he and his friends are consumed with midterms of a different kind.
"This midterm election is one where we need every single young person involved and voting," Edgar said.
A sophomore at Berkeley, Edgar is the director of The Vote Coalition, a non-partisan student organization that encourages those who registered to get out and vote.
"The drop between voter registration and voter turnout is a lot of why we're here every day in November talking to students," he said.
Historically, young people tend to vote in much lower numbers than their parents or grandparents. In the 2018 midterms, only 62% of Berkeley students who registered, actually voted. That's the gap, Edgar is determined to close.
"We know when students feel that something isn't as difficult, once we break down those barriers that's when we get the high voter turnout."
And this year he might have a reason to be optimistic. A new poll by the Harvard Institute of politics predicts Gen Z is poised to turn out in record numbers on November 8, fueled in large part by the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
"Regardless of party, regardless of where people are from, there is this energy of how dire this election is," Edgar said.
