Young Americans are losing faith in politics, and that could spell disaster for Biden

Alexander Denza was in class at the University of North Carolina when he heard the wail of sirens outside.

Seconds later, his phone started buzzing, confirming his worst fears.

“Emergency: armed, dangerous person on or near campus,” said the message from the university’s emergency notification system. “Go inside now; avoid windows.”

Alexander Denza in front of Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.Credit: Josh Tu

For three hours, the 30,000-member Chapel Hill campus was paralysed in lockdown as police searched for a gunman who had opened fire on the campus, killing an associate professor in yet another senseless US shooting.

Some students barricaded themselves in dorm rooms and gyms; others crouched in corners or lay on the floor as helicopters circled overhead.

“It was terrifying,” Denza recalls. “I remember hearing the siren and a chill ran down my spine before I even knew what it was – I think it’s because we’ve been trained to respond to this sort of thing. You always know there’s a high chance of it happening in America.”

Six months on from the August 2023 shooting, eliminating gun violence – along with tackling climate change and the war in Gaza – are front of mind for students like Denza as the US heads towards another presidential election in November.

This week, a pivotal moment in the 2024 election cycle also takes place, when 15 states, including the battleground of North Carolina, hold their presidential nominating primaries and caucuses in the event known as Super Tuesday.

But Denza and many other young voters feel disillusioned by the political landscape they face.

They’re frustrated by politicians who don’t represent their interests, they’re angered by the glacial pace of policy reform, and they’re uninspired by the prospect of a rematch between 81-year-old President Joe Biden and his 77-year-old rival, Donald Trump.

“If I’m being honest, I think this election is one that students are least excited for, even though it’s so necessary for our future,” says Denza, an organiser with March for Our Lives, the youth-led movement advocating for gun control laws in America.

“Young people want someone who they know will represent their interests and I think the fact that we have more of the same or the status quo is tiring students out.”

Almost four years ago, young people came out to vote in record numbers to help propel Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to victory and oust Trump after only one term.

According to the US Census Bureau, the 2020 turnout for American voters under 30 was 54.1 per cent – 10 percentage points more than in 2016 when Trump beat Hillary Clinton, and three percentage points higher than the previous record set in 2008 for Barack Obama’s history-making win.

Now, however, data shows much of that cohort is sceptical or apathetic towards his year’s race, and some are questioning whether they want to vote at all, which can make all the difference in a close election.

Young voters say they’re uninspired by a presidential race between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.Credit: Artwork: Marija Ercegovac

The latest Harvard Public Opinion Project, which provides the most comprehensive look at young Americans’ political opinions and voting trends, recently found that fewer people aged 18 to 29 intended to vote at this year’s November 5 election than they did at the same point during the 2020 election cycle.

The decline in voting intention was most pronounced among black voters and hispanics, who form a core part of the Democrats’ traditional base.

Biden maintains a solid lead over Trump, according to the poll, but his approval rating only stands at 35 per cent, and the risk of losing voters becomes greater for him than Trump when the field expands to include potential third-party candidates, such as vaccine sceptic Robert F Kennedy, the cousin of Caroline Kennedy, the US ambassador to Australia.

Harvard polling director John Della Volpe says the good news for Biden is that there is still enough time to make the case to young people that their vote matters.

“We know what Gen Z and young Millennials want to see and hear,” he says. “They want evidence that democracy works, that government can address our challenges, and that there’s a meaningful difference between the two parties.”

Whether they can be convinced is an open question. This is a generation, after all, that is entering the workforce loaded with student debt, while the cost of housing and other basic needs continues to soar.

They’re united by their fear of what they see across the world, but according to Harvard’s poll, most neither trust Biden nor Trump on important issues like Ukraine, climate change, gun violence, healthcare, crime and the Israel-Hamas war.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators during an “All Out For Palestine” protest in Times Square in New York on Friday.Credit: Bloomberg

Indeed, across the US, young activists have been at the forefront of the backlash over Biden’s support for Israel and his refusal to demand a ceasefire in Gaza.

Last week in Michigan, their rage manifested in the form grassroots campaign with Arab-Americans and other progressives to vote “uncommitted” in the Democratic primary race to send a message to the White House.

In a warning sign for the president, more than 100,000 people did that, with many of the biggest protest votes recorded at polling booths near university precincts.

But voters who spoke to this masthead during the presidential primary races in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina revealed discontent with personality as much as policy.

Biden is already America’s oldest president and faces lingering concerns about his mental acuity and ability to do the job for another four years.

But Trump is only four years younger, has 91 criminal charges against him and is also having his fair share of gaffes on the campaign trail.

As Trump’s last remaining challenger, Nikki Haley argues, both are “two old men who are only getting older” and Americans deserve a “new generational leader” to unite the country.

Others, however, take a different view. Asked if he has any concerns about Biden’s age, 31-year-old Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright, from South Carolina, replies: “Not at all.”

“I think we need his experience at this moment in history. I think we need his steady hand. We need someone who can lower the temperature and can bring Americans from all four corners of the square together.”

The White House, meanwhile, insists that it has accomplished a lot for young people during its first term, from record investment in climate change initiatives and bipartisan gun reform, to cancelling $1.2 billion in student loan debt for 150,000 Americans.

In a bid to sell the message better, Harris also recently embarked on a “Fight for our Freedoms” college tour at about a dozen colleges across at least seven states.

Alexander Denza feels like young voters have been forgotten.Credit: Josh Tu

The aim, the White House said, was to bring thousands of students together “to fight for reproductive freedom, common-sense gun safety laws, climate action, voting rights, LGBTQ+ equality, and teaching America’s full history”.

It’s the kind of engagement that young voters want to see more often – and not just in an election year.

But in the absence of that, says Denza, it’s up to students to mobilise and make their voices heard, just as they did during the civil rights movement or the protest against the Vietnam War.

The North Carolina student and 143 students from over 90 groups across the nation wrote an op-ed, posted by Biden on social media site X, calling for a future free of gun violence.

He’s also in the process of mobilising students to increase voter turnout in state elections across North Carolina.

“If we are to make genuine progress we need to not just focus on one issue, but unite together across all issues,” Denza says.

“Get out there and protest; do the work in our communities; run for office; build out structures and coalitions. It will be a slow process but when we do that across the nation, we will start to gain back what we have lost.”

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