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.
Twenty-four-year-old Muskegon City Commissioner Kiley Jackson is wary about the state of American democracy, but she plans to vote in the general election, hoping to set an example for her generation by staying engaged.
On political accountability:
“You can't just assume that they're [politicians] going to uphold all the values that they said that they were going to when they were running. You can't do that for anybody now.”
The at-large city commissioner identifies as a liberal leaning Democrat, but doesn’t want politicians to assume the values young people like her stand for. She’s frustrated by seeing young people’s voices get overlooked by older generations.
“You can be a Gen X or a Boomer making those laws, but when are those laws going to affect you in the long term? We have the world for much longer after that. Some of the decisions you’re making for the future, but you’re not taking us into consideration when that is our future we are inheriting.”
Jackson said she’s planning to back candidates this November whose campaigns aren't funded by corporations, and who demonstrate transparency and authenticity.
On challenges facing voters today:
Affordable housing for low-income Michiganders and expanded access to meaningful employment are two issues top of mind for Jackson.
“Here in Muskegon, we’re hitting the mark for middle income, and we’re getting there for the low, but the extremely low, that’s something that we can start looking at advancing more on.”
Since graduating college, Jackson said she’s witnessed so many college graduates struggle to find jobs locally.
“You come to Muskegon, and you have a lot of manufacturing jobs and restaurant jobs, tourism jobs that are very hot in the summertime. But then comes time to have somebody who has a bachelor's degree, or even a master's degree. It's very hard for them to find something here.”
On the current political landscape:
When asked whether she feels current politicians are doing enough to bridge divisions and enact changes that improve people’s lives, Jackson expressed uncertainty about the country’s direction.
“I wish I could say I feel more optimistic about the direction of our country.”
During her undergraduate studies at Grand Valley State University, Jackson said she focused on learning about the forces that undermine democracies and drawing parallels to the current political environment in the United States.
“We have somebody in leadership who is pretty authoritarian leaning, and I don’t think Americans like being told what to do. I am intrigued to see how the general population will take that into account when it comes to voting in 2028.”
Jackson sees her generation as free-thinkers and that gives her hope for the future.
“A lot of times we hear stuff and we’re like, is that really true? And then we do our own research to try and figure out whether or not we’re going to believe what somebody told us. We’re not just going to, off the bat, believe something that was said on the internet because we’re truth seekers.”
