Noah Palm of Peoria says he feels his whole life led to him getting involved in politics.
“I come from a strong union family. My mother was a UAW worker. My grandfather was a Teamster. My cousin's a laborer, right?” he said. “So strong labor backing. My father was incarcerated for 10 years, very political right?”
Palm, 25, got involved in the Black Lives Matter movement after he was laid off in 2020. He later joined the Communist Party USA after the January 6 riot in Washington, D.C.
Palm is one of nearly 41 million voters from Generation Z, which consists of people born between 1997 and 2012. Research shows this generation is getting more politically involved than older ones did at their age.
22-year-old Casey Rinkenberger says she first got involved in politics in high school, where she started an organization called the Young Conservatives of Central Illinois.
“My parents taught me, when you see a need, meet the need,” she said. “And so it felt like, wow, there are so many needs in our country, so how can I try my best to meet that need and become an aware voter? Do all I can for our community.”
Rinkenberger says her top issue for this election cycle is the economy, followed by border security and abortion. She plans to vote for former President Donald Trump, because she thinks his administration will be better for the economy.
She uses oil prices as an example.
“Biden's been trying to scale back on the oil production in the US, and so the supply has gone down while the demand is still very high,” she said. “So, this increases prices, not only for ‘Hey, I got to go to Casey’s and fill up my car, but also for the transportation of our goods and services.”
She says Trump's plan to drill in America would lower gas prices and therefore other goods.
25-year-old Kaden Nelms is also planning to vote for Trump. He is a precinct committeeman for the Tazewell county Republicans and a Tazewell county board member.
His top issue is also the economy, followed by national security and immigration. Nelms says taxes are one of his biggest economic issues.
“Especially because living in Illinois, we have such a high tax burden right now, I don't think it is the right move economically to try and raise taxes, especially on the middle class,” he said.
Nelms says he'd like to see the Trump campaign push economic issues more to appeal to young voters.
“We care about how much money is in our pockets,” he said. “With all the prices going up so quickly and wages stagnating, we really need to get the inflation problem under control. And I think everyone can agree that having more money in your pocket always feels good.”
Palm says Project 2025, is the biggest reason he's choosing to vote for vice president Kamala Harris.
“This is an important election, because one a black woman deserves to be president, as Derek Johnson said, that is a black job, right?” he said. “I think that's really, really important, but more importantly, we also need to fight against fascism. Project 2025 is a document that shows fascism.”
Project 2025 was published by the Heritage Foundation and lays out a plan for a potential second Trump term.
Trump denies any involvement in the plan, which includes policies such as eliminating the Department of Education and declassifying abortions as healthcare. Dozens of former Trump administration officials were involved in drafting it.
24-year-old Seth Foote says he also plans to vote for Harris because of Project 2025, and because he believes she'd be better for unions than Trump.
“With all the union activism that has happened in the recent years, you know the GOP, they're not gonna, they're not gonna do anything for workers rights,” he said. “So, yeah, I think she could be pretty decent.”
Foote wants the Harris campaign to take a stronger stance on calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
“Because that is, that is an issue that could really hurt them if they don't, if they don't change their, you know, their messaging on that,” he said. “That is one of the big sticking points for young voters that don't want to vote for Harris.”
Israel and Gaza have become a top issue in this election. 28% of Gen Z voters support an immediate ceasefire, according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.
But data from the center shows that the economy, gun violence and climate change are the top issues for young voters.
