Earlier this year, Justice + Joy launched the Fixing Democracy initiative to envision a just, representative, democracy that centers the lived experiences of girls, young women, and gender-expansive young people of color. We partnered with Fixing Democracy Youth Leads Addison Moore and Genisus Holland, along with HIT Strategies, and Lake Research Partners to convene focus groups virtually and in-person in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, and Los Angeles among young women, transgender, and gender-expansive Black, Latine, Asian American/Pacific Islander, Native/Indigenous people ages 16-25 who identified as young mothers, survivors of sexual exploitation, immigrants/refugees eligible to vote, having experience with adverse childhood experiences (ACE’s), and with the child welfare, foster care, juvenile/adult justice systems. You can read the detailed findings here, but in short young people felt cynical about voting at the federal level but more hopeful about change on a local level. They felt invisible in the broader election discourse even though Gen Z is poised to be an incredibly influential voting block this year and is already politically engaged in their communities. They also felt that most politicians are too old and out of touch, and wanted to see a candidate who resonated more with their lived experiences. However, they are eager to work together to bring about more change.
The ideal candidate for them is: future-oriented; a woman; a person of color; young; working-class; well-educated; confident; charming; likable; charismatic; has a track record of creating change; has a background in organizing; is self-aware; and works for the people.
We wondered if their views had changed upon learning that President Biden would not run for a second term as president, and that Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota governor Tim Walz were now the democratic candidates for the presidency and vice presidency. So, we reached back out to them, and here’s what we learned from the respondents:
- Most are more willing to vote in the federal election now than they were before.
- Most are feeling hopeful for the first time in a long time. While they are eager to learn more about Vice President Harris’s policy platform, they feel her candidacy is a welcome change.
- They had positive reactions to Tim Walz as the vice presidential candidate.
- They are more hopeful now about access to reproductive care and gun reforms.
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