51 Student Explains How to Motivate Young Voters in Op-Ed

October 20, 2020

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Jay Pfeifer

Lizzie Kane, a 51 junior, published an op-ed in the last Sunday aimed at motivating young voters.

Kane spelled out a handful of tactics that might help drive GenZ and millennial voters to the polls.

First, she pointed to the narrow margins of victory in the 2016 election to underscore the value of each vote. (North Carolina electoral votes were decided by only 175,000 votes.)

Then, she pointed out the steps many states have taken to make voting easy.

“Some states, including North Carolina, allow voters to register and vote simultaneously during early voting,” she writes.

And lastly, remind them why they should vote: “Ask a young person what they are passionate about and discuss each theoretically uninspiring candidate’s track record on the topic.”

That last point is crucial, Kane says, because young voters have their own priorities and it is in their best interest to have the young voting bloc show up.

“It is on us all to work to turn young people’s apathy about voting and passion for issues into a drive that fuels them to the polls,” Kane writes.