In 2024, Michigan saw a record increase in the number of young voters showing up to the polls.
So what are young voters in the state focused on this year? And what do they want from the people asking for their vote?
Our team of summer interns went to find out. We'll be bringing you their stories through November for our What the Vote?! project.
21-year-old Aubrey Greenfield has become accustomed to the reactions people have when she answers the question, "Where are you from?"
"Freshman year of college, I really wanted to put everything behind me. But it's tough, because I felt like I couldn't say I was from Oxford, Michigan," said Greenfield.
Greenfield is the survivor of a mass shooting.
"It's not my identity, but it's part of how I identify, because it really changed my life."
On Tuesday, November 30, 2021, a 15-year-old student opened fire on his fellow students at Oxford High School, killing four of them. It's an event that has followed Greenfield, now a senior at the University of Michigan, and helped shape her perspective on the upcoming election.
Pushing for more action on gun violence
"So, back in 2023, I was present when Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed safe storage laws into effect and also signed a law that made it so that domestic abusers could not hold guns, and made it easier for different federal offices and government offices to take guns away from abusers."
Greenfield said seeing that legislation be signed made her "feel alive again" and as if she was being heard. But recently, she's felt momentum slow. As a self-identified Democrat, she said she is disappointed in what her party hasn't yet accomplished.
"There are a lot of things that the party could be doing right now, and be speaking up about, in regards to gun violence prevention. For example, more legislation on ghost guns, etc., but they're really falling short. And I don't feel like there's one specific candidate that's been falling short. I kind of feel that it's been the majority of them have been falling short recently."
What Democrats have gotten right
While gun violence made her civically engaged, other concerns are also driving Greenfield to the polls this November.
"When I take a look at myself and my values, I have a few that really drive me. One of those is access to reproductive health care."
On that issue, she said, Democrats have held strong.
"I feel like, as a woman, my rights are protected in the state of Michigan. I'm very grateful for the constitutional amendment that was put in place a few years ago that guarantees my right to reproductive freedom, and I do feel that many of the Democrats on the ballot are still upholding these values."
What keeps her hopeful
"I have had these little glimmers of hope and I feel really excited about our country's future, and then it gets washed away again. But just because that happens doesn't mean I stop fighting for gun reform. It doesn't mean that I stop doing podcast interviews, or that I stop talking about my experiences — because if I do stop talking — then really nothing will get done."
As a young person, Greenfield acknowledged that there are likely many more fights ahead to make progress on the issues that matter most to her.
"I think it's important that, going forward, I'm going to be voting in elections my entire life. There are so many more elections ahead of me. Making sure that I stay informed, and that I'm able to inform other people, really drives me."
