What Young Americans Want Out of Politics: More Parties, More Pathways

America’s leaders once inspired young people with electrifying speeches, challenged them to ask what they could do for the country, and painted visions of bright futures they could work together towards. But today’s politicians more often serve as symbols of an ossifying political system in which change seems impossible and young people are sidelined.

The United States has the highest share of politicians over 60 among wealthy OECD countries and one of the largest age gaps between legislators and their constituents. South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham was the sixth member of the current Congress to die in office, while former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been absent for more than a month because of health issues. At the same time, lawmakers are failing to address issues that are particularly important to younger voters, such as climate change and artificial intelligence. 

Young people have taken notice. Contrary to popular belief, they haven’t given up on politics. Rather, they want a different kind of politics and are drawn to reforms like proportional representation with the potential to make democracy more representative, inclusive, and dynamic. New America and New Voters, a Gen Z–led nonprofit, recently heard how in a discussion with three politically active high school students. 

Sania, Mae, and Troy are too young to vote, but that hasn’t prevented them from getting involved in politics in creative ways. Sania, from Texas, helps run after-school civics lessons. Mae, from Alabama, cohosts a podcast where she interviews candidates for office. Troy, from New Jersey, uses comedy shows and skits to teach media literacy. While their work has made them aware of American democracy’s flaws, it has also shown them how politics can bring people together to solve problems. 

The three of them share frustrations with the status quo. Sania thinks politicians are too focused on rage-baiting and that politics is about “hating the opposing side,” leading many to disengage from an “intentionally exhausting system.” Mae finds the power of politics to effect change exciting but laments that “the people that are representing me just kind of go around and do the opposite” of what voters want. And Troy worries that the country is a “hostile place for emerging young politicians” because of “the money that it costs to run a campaign,” which someone “coming out of college or someone coming out of graduate school just doesn’t have.”

Instead of being discouraged by these problems, however, they are quick to identify solutions. Troy made the case that politicians should be held to high standards, using the analogy of cheerleading contestants on a reality show: “If your kicks are not high enough, you just got to go.” Mae wants options beyond the Democratic and Republican parties. Sania agrees that the two major parties are insufficient to reflect the views of people across the country: “I am from Texas and not going to have naturally the same political opinions as someone from New York and California.”

The students recognize the need for major reforms. When Troy hears that adults don’t want to vote for “the lesser of two evils,” his response is: “So why aren’t you at the rank[ed]-choice voting meeting?… If you guys don’t want the lesser of two evils, then maybe you should support proportional representation.” Mae lives in Birmingham, “a blue city in a red state” that is “just not getting the representation that we are voting for because of these congressional districts and because of this winner-takes-all system, so I think proportional representation is definitely a very exciting idea.”

They are on to something. As a recent report by New America and Protect Democracy noted, proportional representation would create more electoral competition, encourage parties to invest in and include young people as candidates, allow young people to organize themselves into parties, and provide more ballot options. Proportional representation would make voting more worthwhile and meaningful for young people and make democracy more representative across generations.