This is Democracy – Episode 123: New Voters

[0:00:00 Speaker 1] This Is Democracy, a podcast that explores the interracial inter generational and inter sectional unheard voices living in the world’s most influential democracy. Mhm,

[0:00:25 Speaker 0] yeah, welcome to our new episode of this is Democracy. Uh, in this moment in our society, when we’re so focused on elections and voting this week, we are going to talk about what it’s like to vote for first time voters for president. What does this election mean to them? Why is it voting important to them? What role do they see these young voters who are the future of our democracy? What role do they see voting playing as our society evolves in this challenging time, we’re fortunate to have with us two very talented young people to individuals who I think are the future of our democracy. In many ways, uh, we have Gillian Smith with us. Gillian is a junior at the University of Texas. She is a 40 acre scholar, which is an elite scholarship for some of the best students at U T and in the country, and, uh, she has voted before, but this is her first time voting for president. Good morning, Gillian.

[0:01:27 Speaker 1] Good morning.

[0:01:29 Speaker 0] And we also have with us. Eli Alter. Eli is a senior at Nutrient High School in Illinois. And this was his first time voting, and certainly not the last. Right, Eli? Of course. Not the last at all. Great. Wonderful to have you with us as well. Before we turn to our discussion with Jillian and Eli, we have, of course, our scene setting poem from another young future leader. Uh, a young man who does not get to vote yet, but we’ll vote in a couple of years. Mr. Zachary. Sorry. What is the title of your poem today, Zachary? I remember when I was four. Well, let’s hear about your remembrance of when you were for Yeah, I remember when I was four, we walked into a voting booth on a dusty gymnasium floor Before I had even lost a tooth. I watched my father cast his vote for a black man in Grant Park in an overcoat and vaguely I remember, like folklore the park and his hopeful truth, like something good was in store. I remember it like a haze sweet, like democratic vermouth. That someone on their deathbed after the will they just wrote opens. Cash was their promissory note, and I remember a different place in a different time that on a Tuesday was filled with rain and lights flashed from the highway as if out of an old rhyme on science that bore my mother’s name. Stuck in grass between the pavement stone glowing as the raindrops shown that same night, I watched the unfolding crime, the old adage of the tyrant stain and tasted fears. Bitter lime wanting to cry as if something had been slain, remembering the gymnasium alone, trying to find some logic in this collective groan. And then we saw a man dying for eight minutes on a street in front of a squad car and some of us we found ourselves staring up at a star, knowing we’d end up rewriting this in some future national memoir. What is your poem about Zachary? My poem is really about my experience with elections and, uh, in particular the election of Barack Obama and the later election of Donald Trump. And it’s really sort of about the contrast between hope and hate and also about this very strange moment that we find ourselves in now. Mhm well, that’s a great way to open this discussion and and wonderful memories you evoke in your poem. Zachary. Uh, Julian, what did it feel like to vote for president for the first time in this moment,

[0:04:01 Speaker 1] it actually kind of felt surreal. I mean, this was my fourth election voting, but it was my first presidential election, and it kind of hit me just I felt like I was joining a tradition that I don’t know. I got a lot more emotional in the ballot box and what I thought I actually would because this is like every four years, most people pay more attention to this election than they do the Senate elections in the down ballot races. And so I felt like I was finally voting and what people cared about, which is a very like that, made me sad to think like that the other elections before work as meaningful to the community because they should be. But I think when I was 18 and I first started voting, there was this sense that my voice mattered more. And I felt that again when I voted because this was the election, everyone was watching and I felt like Texas had a chance to flip. And I knew I could be a part of that if it did happen. And I could be a part of dramatically changing something if it did. It was just a very strange realization of the history that had come up leading to this point. And also where it could lead my vote, joined others in a certain way.

[0:05:21 Speaker 0] And did you vote in person? Gillian?

[0:05:23 Speaker 1] Yes. I voted on campus on the first day of early voting.

[0:05:28 Speaker 0] Fantastic. Fantastic. Eli, what did it feel like for you? Yeah, I definitely have to agree with that serial experience. I mean, I’m actually 18, and that is the first time I’ve ever voted. And I think that was something that shocked me completely. Like I had that responsibility. Like I saw my parents, they would go to the polls, they cast their vote and they’d come home, watch the election that whole entire night. And I felt that experience. And I think it’s really important, especially in this time. And I mean, I guess so. My parents believed would definitely come upon me, but of course I still have my own, and I think it’s finally time for me. to cast those opinions into a ballot. And I think that was huge. And and and Eli did Did you feel like this was your sort of taking control of politics, having some influence? Or did you Did you not feel that you had much influence? You know, I have to say I actually had less of influence only because of where I lived, and I kind of realized this before I even cast my vote. Is that I mean, I live in Illinois, and that’s a typically a very democratic state. So no matter which way I voted, whether I voted Democratic or Republican, I don’t think my vote would matter that much, especially in the presidential election with the Electoral College and all that. That makes sense. That makes sense. You’re not in a state like Georgia right now, where a few 100 votes are changing everything. Gillian, did you go with other young people? Was this a sort of common experience? I know even with covid where, of course, maintaining social distance. But did this feel like a a common experience that you were sharing with others of your cohort?

[0:07:02 Speaker 1] So I went to vote by myself but I definitely felt like there was more of a shared experience in voting than what I had before. Um, so I always vote on campus every time I have the opportunity. And this was the first time that I had ever waited in a line, and there is definitely there was only like, a five minute line. It wasn’t anything God, but it was different from what I would like walk in and walk out. And there is definitely a sense of camaraderie with all the people standing in line and then, just like all the group chat, set them in and talking with my roommates as we planned. Like what days we were going to vote, whether or not they were going to mail in their votes or drive home. There is definitely this. Don’t want to say it felt like all hands are on deck in voting, but everyone seemed very engaged, and I never received so many questions like how can I register to vote? Where can I go to vote? How do I figure out how long the line is within like by sorority and other organizational group shots? And just even though I like I went by myself just for scheduling purposes to vote. It definitely felt like so many people around me were also trying to vote. And there was so much more engagement than what they normally had been. And I don’t know, I think in the past there sometimes this idea that voting can be like a chore, like the government majors get super excited about it. And everyone else has to like care because like they’re getting out now. And it felt like the attitude had really changed on campus and everyone felt more of an urgency and voting.

[0:08:39 Speaker 0] Right, right. This is what what scholars have often pointed to as a kind of collective identity that comes from a group of people voting and sharing information. And it sounds like this happened for you, largely through social media.

[0:08:52 Speaker 1] Mhm. There’s definitely I only have one class in person, and even then only four of us show up, and everyone else just like, gets on the zoom for it. And so my most of my social circles that are like, outside of my most immediate friends, have all gone online this semester.

[0:09:13 Speaker 0] Makes sense. Eli, how about you? Is this something you were talking about with your friends. Oh, for sure. Yeah, I definitely agree with that. I mean, especially on social media. I think all of my friends are very active with that. I mean, I don’t know if you guys know about, like, instagram and stuff like that, but like all of them, like instagram stories. When I flick through them on a daily basis, they would all have to do with the election. And I think that that has been going on for about two months now. So, yeah, I think social Media definitely played a huge influence. And I mean, of course, in my like in our friend group and stuff like that I’ve been talking a lot about, like, the election and like what we think the outcome may be and, uh, how it’s gonna affect the nation in that Yeah. So I’d have to say it has been talked about for the past at least two months and Eli that it’s a fascinating answer. Did the group chat encourage discussion of issues in a way that wouldn’t normally be the case on instagram and other social media? Yeah, I’d have to say I mean a lot of my friends, we feel more comfortable talking about it with each other and not like exactly voicing our opinions to, like, thousands of people. And rather than just like that small little five person group chat, and we could really talk and feel comfortable, that’s great. That’s a real positive story about social media. I think that we need to remember when, when we’re obviously pointing to all the misinformation and bullying that goes on, some of it coming from the White House, even on social media. The fact that that you, Eli and you, Gillian, that did your groups actually use social media to to talk in substantive ways about politics? That’s a really positive thing. Uh, do you agree, Julia?

[0:10:46 Speaker 1] Yeah, I think I would.

[0:10:47 Speaker 0] And and Eli, do you find that, um, in this environment where these things are so politicized and so partisan that your your discussions of voting have they allowed people to become more open minded? Or do you do you find it’s It’s sort of preaching to the choir. I mean, I’d have to say, even in my immediate friend group, and like a lot of people, I talked to I think it is still kind of, uh, it’s still divided. Uh, we have a lot of different opinions, but I think the way that we manage our opinions is we’re just more accepting of them. And we use them as more of a learning, like looking at from a different perspective. I mean, I don’t know that answers the question fully, but I think for the most part, I’d like to say most people’s opinions get understood. That’s great. No, it sounds like what you’re having would be what we would call a political discourse real political discussion. But instead of having it in a traditional, you know, debate environment or over dinner, you’re you’re having it, uh, through your social media, Which makes makes a lot of sense. Uh, Gillian, you referred to covid and the challenges that we all recognize that our democracy is confronting with the limitations on a person to person contact. How? How did covid affect your voting and the way you thought about voting and the way you thought about whom to vote for. How would you connect it to your experience?

[0:12:09 Speaker 1] Yeah. So I would say covid most impacted how I thought about voting, probably actually for the July run offs. Um, during July, I’m still very cautious and afraid of covid. But July we were still just coming out of the first round of lockdowns and so going anywhere in person with a lot more terrifying of an event than what it is in October and November. And so going to vote back in July almost felt it was a scary of it. And I felt like I had to prepare in ways that I had never prepared. I remember, like making sure I could fit two masks on and like taking pairs of gloves with me, which is basic safety protocols. But normally I just like, grab my license and like a quick, sticky note of my down ballot candidates and I ran out the door, and this time, like I could feel some of the state policies in Texas that we’re trying to keep my vote home. I was much more aware of them in July than what I was in earlier elections, and I think the resentment that I’ve had to such oppressive policies that prevent people from being able to vote by mail if they are just afraid of a deadly virus. Um, I think that awareness and the reason that I had to a state that wouldn’t protect its people in that way. I think it definitely continued into when I voted in October. But I wouldn’t say it necessarily changed who I was voting because I was I was always going to vote down ballot for Democrats. Um, just like with my personal political ideology, But it definitely made be more aware of the consequences of my vote and less willing to take a chance on the other party because so many people and it have been just wrong about the dangers of it and without empathy of two people who have suffered from it. And so I didn’t even entertain the idea of like, oh, maybe, just like, let me take a chance on this guy when I I just didn’t feel like that was even a safe thing.

[0:14:20 Speaker 0] Eli, did you feel like politicians and elected officials were actively courting your vote? Did you feel like they felt that your vote mattered? Um, I’d have to say yes to that. Actually, I think a lot of what I like. I received numerous text messages I’m Gerald. You did about. You need to vote this Yes, for this and no for that. And you need to vote our Senator, Dick Durbin. I got a lot of text from him, and I think I I think they’re campaigning. Methods were It was It was pretty good for the most part. And it didn’t swing me to vote for him. And I ran into a few of his policies and specifically Dick Durbin. Yeah, I would say that you made me feel like my vote mattered a little more. And what about you, Julian?

[0:15:05 Speaker 1] I did not feel like my vote was ever really courted. Um, I definitely received campaign texts from railroad commissioner candidates as well as congressional candidates. Even though there’s definitely something wrong with my address. Not database. Because it was always for, like, candidates that we’re a few blocks away from my district. And so I’d always have to text back me like, No, you can’t count on my vote. I like legally cannot vote there. Um, but in terms of the larger races, I never really felt like the presidential ticket tried with my generation or at least my political wing um, I voted for a more progressive candidate in March, and especially in the summer, I felt like Biden really pandered to moderates and that, like I was going to vote for him because even a change to a more moderate liberal president is a change away from Donald Trump. But I don’t think everyone would think of it that way. And it’s also just to see how many people voted for Castro and Warren and Sanders and to not even acknowledge what they see are as legitimate issues throughout our society and even just discuss some of the solutions. Even if Biden never adopted them, really made me feel as if there was almost like this disdain towards progressives. And many of the progressives are the younger wing of the party. Um, when Biden and Sanders met up to discuss climate policies, I did feel like that was kind of a change and how he was trying to pursue more progressive and more young, younger voters. But even then you still had Kamala Harris speaking about fracking and how we weren’t going to get rid of it and the vice presidential debates. And so there were definitely days and I was just like, Okay, So he had one conversation with Sanders to talk about climate change and still never really committed to younger voters who are rightly afraid of the climate crisis I felt very taken advantage of. But it was also this. I felt, like the alternative of not voting for Biden. I couldn’t do anything with my, like, being upset about feeling taken advantage of that was just like an emotion I had to get over. Um, And so I’m hopeful that future campaigns are more respectful of younger voters who have legitimate concerns that aren’t being answered by the moderate wing.

[0:17:45 Speaker 0] It’s a very powerful statement you make Gillian. One of the challenges has always been that in our politics, uh, young voters get less attention from candidates, in large part because they vote in such lower numbers, especially in comparison to older voters. But then, of course, it’s hard to convince young people to vote if candidates aren’t paying attention to their issues. And so it’s a it’s a it’s a paradox. What are your thoughts on breaking out of that? I mean, we did see a record turnout from young people across the United States still lower than other age groups but higher than it’s been before. Uh, what? What are your thoughts on how we can maintain that and persuade candidates who will always speak to the groups they think are most likely to vote? How can we get young people to vote most consistently and draw more attention from candidates?

[0:18:33 Speaker 1] It’s a really hard question. I think I feel like since so many young voters have come of age in a time when government never really seems like a solution, even when it has been like that just isn’t necessarily a perception. I mean, we came of age when most of the surveillance policies resulting from 9 11, we’re in full force. A lot of us had really have really formative experiences with the 2008 recession, and then the election of Donald Trump is kind of everyone’s most vivid understanding of our election system just because that’s when we were either in high school or middle school and kind of had a better understanding of what was going on. And so I think you almost need to get rid of the assumption that electing someone can be a good thing um, which, like, I don’t want to say, Like everyone engines E. C. S elections is bad because that’s not true. It’s just we’ve seen a lot of damage from the government and a lot of neglect. And so I think you almost have to make the case and start from scratch and show that good things can be done and just really work to build those bridges. Um, one thing I saw online, so I followed. There was almost a cult following of Julie Oliver on campus, which was really interesting to watch, and I followed a lot of people who are texting for her on Twitter, and people were laughing that they realized they received more responses whenever they texted in all lower case and texting and all. Lower case is just how a lot of younger people have come to text. And so it was almost these organizers and these volunteers were meeting younger voters where they were at in such a very small but understanding way where, like they demonstrated that they understood the dialect and we value. I’m not saying they have to, like pander to young people and younger trends, but at least make the effort to understand what we value and understand what discussion looks like to us and at least show some respect to it. I feel like when politicians and candidates try to make names, that almost never helps them. Um, it really shows like a misunderstanding of what we value and it almost parody something. And so I feel like there has to be a more genuine approach to speaking to younger voters.

[0:21:12 Speaker 0] That’s a really insightful comment, Gillian. And just for our listeners who are not in Austin, uh, uh, Julie Oliver was a candidate running for Congress. Uh, in in Austin. Uh, Eli, I want to ask the same question to you and just just ask the question in different words. How can we make voting and politics in general? How can we make it something that more young people like you want to engage in? Want to participate in and draw your talents into the discussion? How can we do that? Better? Uh, so it’s not just a one off that you voted. And now you and your friends, you know, start talking about other things and don’t pay any attention any longer. How can we reverse that that that process that often plays out. Yeah. I mean, I think it really ties back to the idea of social media. I’ve I’ve talked about a lot of us, my friends, and a lot, too. Is that the way that the younger generation really sees things is online, like most people would be like. Oh, did you see this post by so and so And like for example, like Donald Trump will post something, And I think all of my friends will be like, Oh, my God, did you see what he just posted? And it will be a huge conversation like that. And I think a lot of people what we see is what we’ll get involved in. And I think so far we’ve done a pretty good job of getting the message across. Like a lot of social media accounts have, like, been like go vote and like, I think that was huge for everyone to like, even go and vote and see all of that. But I think for the younger generation to really get involved, it’s something that you have to leave to appeal to the younger generation. What the younger generation has really started as the movement of social media, and I think a lot of the older candidates are kind of getting it laid upon that. And I think that’s why they struggle a little bit more getting the younger generation. It’s just that social media outlook that makes so much sense. That’s really powerful. Um, Eli. One of the challenges, though, is that voting itself is a kind of 19th century technology right where you have to go and you know either, you know, press a button or sign a slip of paper as the presidential election is actually being decided by the counting of paper ballots, which is again is a very 19th century thing. So how do we deal with that? That the fact that maybe the ways we talk about politics can be put into a social media context. But in the end, we’re going to have to vote in a way that that is a little more traditional, simply because social media is not a secure way to anonymously vote. So how do you think about that contradiction? Yeah, I mean, when I walked in to my, uh like when I was walking in to cast my vote. I was like, They want me to write on a paper ballot. Like what? That makes no sense. I think one thing that I could see happening in the future is actually voting with our phones, and I think I obviously that’s pretty hard because it can be. It can be messed with a little. But I think once we get that down with a secure network, I think voting on our phones and stuff like that, I mean everyone. You look around almost every younger young general, personally young generation has a phone, and that would also make them so much more inclined to vote because I think a lot of things that they don’t want to take the time out of their day because they’ll be doing like, for example, right now, like online classes like they don’t have the time to go vote Maybe, But if it’s right there on your phone and just like a simple email that you receive, you click it right there. You don’t have to go, go in, mark it down with a little Sharpie and then put it through a machine that doesn’t always work. To be honest, it’s a very good observation. And and I think you’re right. Uh, again, you add to that the challenges of covid. Uh, and, uh, it’s actually it seems terribly contradictory that we ask people to vote in in a very traditional way at a time when we’re doing so many other things. And there’s so many other reasons to avoid the kinds of traditional forms of interaction and when many of us have forgotten how to write with our hands, right, Because we’re usually typing Now, Julian, As you know, we always like to to sort of close our podcast with a few questions about not just the present but looking forward and an optimistic possibilities. Uh, what do you take from this moment as a source of hope and as something you’re going to use, uh, to try to encourage others of your cohort to get involved and make more of a difference As we go forward? What is your hopeful message? If there is one from from this experience

[0:25:31 Speaker 1] voting, I think one of the most hopeful things that I saw around me was the fact that I think was 98% of eligible voters in Travis County were registered this year, and that is an unprecedented number. And it showed so much of a willingness to engage with people in power and political systems that can leave people behind. And to me, it kind of signaled that people wanted to step up and kind of forced some of these hard power structures down and do it they could and unseen numbers. And I think this willingness to engage in this willingness to kind of hold governing officials more accountable has come out of an incredibly dark year. And I’m hopeful that no matter how this election goes that people are more aware of the power their voice holds and more willing to vote to volunteer and to get out in their community now that we’ve all kind of had that painful realization of there are people in power who won’t listen to us unless we really step up. And so the unprecedented numbers of turn out the numbers of new registered voters have me incredibly hopeful that we’re going to see more engagement going forward and hopefully that will make a lot more of our representation, actual representation of our communities.

[0:27:02 Speaker 0] Well, one of the principles that you’re echoing from the scholarship on democracy is that people become involved when there’s a moment that they feel an urgency and that they feel they have a mechanism, that they can do something. And your vote is a mechanism to at least try to make a difference and try to draw attention to your to your issues. What about you, Eli D. What do you see? Hopeful. And what do you see as productive that we can build on coming out of out of your first vote? I’d have to say, uh, that the conversation is still going. And I think after this presidential election, I’d really hope for this conversation of politics not to just stop after selection, whether it’s Joe Biden or Donald Trump. Hopefully Joe Biden. But we’ll see. We’ll see hopefully later today. Um, but I want to see this conversation. Keep going. This conversation of politics and my younger generation just keep flourishing and honestly building, or something more. And whether that’s on social media or just face to face or over over the screen nowadays. But it’s all right. Uh, yeah, I’m pretty hopeful that this conversation will keep going and that my younger generation will still be involved. And I guess we are the future of the democracy. As you said, Zachary, what do you think? Does this? Does this resonate with you? You will be voting for the next president of the United States or the next term of the next president of the United States. Does this resonate with you?

[0:28:27 Speaker 1] Um, I think it

[0:28:28 Speaker 0] does. I think that this is a really powerful moment for getting people involved in politics. Uh, it looks really ugly at the moment, but I think that can actually inspire people to make it less ugly. I think that’s such an important point. Our politics are ugly in many ways, but voting is a way of changing the conversation, and it is a way of also creating new conversations and a new picture for our democracy. Our podcast is mobilized around the idea that people, young people, all kinds of people and our guests range from all kinds of ages and all kinds of backgrounds, but that people still determine the future of our democracy, that every vote counts and that the process of voting is a way of bringing people together. Uh, this is what of course, Franklin Roosevelt said when he spoke about every generation writing a new chapter in our democracy, and we certainly need a new chapter. Now we can hope that this election in some small way, opened a new chapter. I’m confident it did, because of the insights, the words, the energy and the optimism. Uh, that Eli Alter and Gillian Smith and millions of other new voters brought to this election is one of the most optimistic and exciting things I’ve seen in a long time. I want to thank you, Eli and Gillian, for joining us today for sharing your wisdom, sharing your emotions and your feelings. That was really so inspiring. And also thank you for keeping this conversation going in your own communities in your own friend groups so that we can indeed change our democracy and give voice to all the positive creative energy that both of you and so many others bring. So thank you for joining us today.

[0:30:11 Speaker 1] Thank you for having us.

[0:30:12 Speaker 0] Thank you so much for having me and thank you to Zachary. Sorry. Of course, for his, uh, inspiring poem and most of all, thank you to our listeners for joining us on this episode of This is

[0:30:24 Speaker 1] Democracy. This podcast is produced by the Liberal Arts

[0:30:34 Speaker 0] Development Studio and the College of

[0:30:36 Speaker 1] Liberal Arts at the University of Texas at Austin. The music in this episode was written

[0:30:41 Speaker 0] and recorded by

[0:30:42 Speaker 1] Harrison Lemke, and you can find his music at

[0:30:44 Speaker 0] Harrison Lemke dot com.

[0:30:46 Speaker 1] Subscribe and stay tuned for a new episode every Thursday featuring new perspectives on democracy. Mhm. Uh

[0:30:54 Speaker 0] huh, Mhm