Voters under the age of 35 account for roughly 29% of the national electorate, according to a September report by the Brookings Institution. However, youth voter turnout is historically low. We talked with students from area high schools and the University of Nevada, Reno (and one recent graduate) who plan to vote in the 2024 election about why they think this is.

While our respondents align with different candidates and issues, they conveyed a common thread—a sense of disconnection from the political process.

Annalise Bertz, 18, Reno High School student

Plans to vote for Donald Trump. Why? Economic concerns.

“The youth voter turnout is so low because lots of younger people are unsure and don’t educate themselves. They end up not knowing who they’d vote for when the time comes.”

Trevor Pauley, 23, graduate of UNR 

Plans to vote for Trump. Why? Economic instability, crime and immigration.

“It’s hard to vote when you know that’s all most politicians care about. Most act like they don’t want to help the American people.”

Alexandra Muñoz Moreno, 18, Carson High School student

Plans to vote for Kamala Harris. Why? Reproductive rights.

“I believe that schools should be encouraging young people to go out and vote, which is something I’m not seeing a lot up here in Northern Nevada.”

Brooklyn Menante, 18, UNR student

Plans to vote for Harris. Why? Democratic values.

“Youth voter turnout is low due to the fact that we often believe we don’t count.”

Isaac Bowers, 25, UNR graduate student

Plans to vote for Harris. Why? She could ease some of the country’s social divisions.

(Low youth turnout is due to) “social media tarnishing the line between reality and fiction. … Social media, unfortunately, would be one of the best ways to get more voter turnout. At the end of the day… these issues are up to the people that these Presidents serve to fix. People will not care to vote if they don’t see the value in voting.”

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