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 our What the Vote? series.
Grosse Pointe Park native Connor London, 18, voted for the first time during the August primaries this year. Although London considers himself an independent, he voted on the Democratic side of the ballot.
On the most important issues:
London just started his freshman year at Georgetown University this fall, but he’s already thinking about what his financial situation might look like after graduation.
“College is not cheap. And then life is not cheap outside of college,” he said. “And so I want to be able to have a future where I'm not drowning in debt, and where I can have a life, but also get the education that I want to have.”
Affordability has been top of mind for London. He said he’s seen prices go up over the past few years, from the cost of going out with friends, to rent. Now, he's worried about how rising costs will affect his long-term goals.
“It seems like even with a good college education, it's hard to find jobs that will pay enough for me to afford a home or raise a family. And that's something that I want to do, and I think a lot of young people want to do, but it's just not feasible,” he said. “And I don't want to have that sort of fear or negativity, and so I'm looking for leaders and politicians who will actually focus on those issues.”
On political affiliation:
“I don't know if I feel accurately represented by either side. I think it's more so a candidate-by-candidate basis,” London said. “I think that I'd rather not force a label on myself, as opposed to [backing] who I actually believe stands for what I believe in, instead of backing who I think is the right party.”
He believes the two-party system creates an “illusion of choice” by presenting two candidates that only appear to have different values.
“But then you look into it, and they both might have the same corporate donors,” he said. “So that means they're going to share a lot of that same pro-corporation policy that might be detrimental to just individual citizens.”
When it comes to the U.S. Senate race, London said, Abdul El-Sayed sticks out as a compelling candidate.
“I think he's got one of the most interesting and captivating campaigns that I've witnessed since I've been a teenager trying to become civically aware,” he said. "And it’s really crazy how such a simple slogan of, ‘Money out of politics, money in your pocket, Medicare for all,’ seems so radical. When really you think about it, it's such a simple idea."
El-Sayed’s messaging motivated London to vote in the primary election – something he previously “never really thought about or cared about.”
“He was a candidate that actually made me want to get out there and support him, because he was saying the things that I have been waiting for someone to say.”
On the candidates Gen Z wants to see:
Many young voters, London said, are “sick of” candidates accepting corporate money to fund their campaigns.
“I think politicians on both sides need to be able to take accountability and say, ‘Yeah, I know that I might be influenced by taking these streams of money, and I'm gonna say no to that. Even if it would benefit me, I'm gonna say no.’”
That rare level of integrity and transparency is what young voters, regardless of party affiliation, want to see, he said.
“And I think that is what really resonates with all young people, is seeing politicians take the hard way and take accountability for how their campaigns are being done,” he said.
