When Did Politics Get So Political?

Instagram: @howchapmanvotes

How does one describe the college experience? In the midst of such a pivotal time of development, students must also grapple with societal pressures and current events on top of their rigorous course load. With an upcoming Presidential Election that is often regarded as ‘controversial’, we sought out to find what students attending Chapman University, a private school in central OC, are thinking about when determining what to do with their vote. The university lays central to Orange County in Orange, California and welcomes a variety of both in-state and out-of-state students. Amid this convergence of experiences, the campus becomes a space where individuality subtly weaves through a shared environment. What connects these young adults - and also may divide them - is that each student is entitled to their own distinctive perspective. With a new generation of voters coming-of-age, there are fresh minds that are given a voice in such a unique political time. This begs the question: what are these students thinking, and how can we better understand politics in the context of a young audience? 

With a rich political climate, California represents many sectors of voters. According to the Orange County Registrar of Voters, the county has registered roughly 1.8 million citizens to vote in the upcoming presidential election. Approximately 680,000 of these registrants are grouped as voters likely to vote for the Democratic Nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris accompanied by her running mate, Tim Walz. Another 624,000 are predicted to cast their ballot for the Republican Nominee, Former President Donald Trump with JD Vance. These two categories (37% and 34% respectively), make up over 70% of the voting preferences in Orange County so far, indicating that the gap might be ‘close’ in OC between the two leading presidential candidates. Historically, Orange County has generally voted red in political situations. But as of the past dozen years, we have seen a shift in the voting trends, culminating during Former President Trump’s first election in 2016. Although the political tide may be subtly changing, who is responsible for this modification? Is it the voting new-comers or simply a change in pace?

As of July 5th, only 12.50% of registered voters in Orange County were between the ages of 18 (by the day they cast their ballot) and 25, according to the Secretary of State in California. The remaining 87.50% make up the majority of all voters in OC. This data provides interesting insight about the ratio of registered OC voters ages 18-25 to the total number of citizens ages 18-25 located in the county. However, this data has yet to be collected since President Biden’s step down from the position of Democratic Nominee and Vice President Harris’ nomination for the party. Likely, this data has shifted since the recent change, but voting history in OC still suggests similar trends in anticipation. 

Election after election, the younger population tends to vote less than their older counterparts. Young adults even tend to have strange behavior surrounded by the idea of politics. In fact, the Pew Research Center claims that only 9% of social media users share or post things about political or social issues often on social media. The other 91% generally agreed that they refrain from posting about politics because they are concerned that what they post will be used against them or will change people’s opinions on them. 

This poses the question: for a generation who is so used to posting their lives to social media and sharing their opinions so publicly, what makes it so difficult for them to post about their political views? When did politics become so political? 

Sofia Robe, Sophomore Health Science major at Chapman, states that “the fear of judgment often prevents [her] from speaking out about political opinions.” This supports the data collected by Pew Research Center and enunciates that there is a stigma surrounding young adults and politics. 

“People have these strong opinions and are able to talk about them in small-group situations, but social media and the hate-fueled political environment makes it feel like we don’t have a place in the conversation,” Robe reflects. 

Political anonymity is a concept that has grown with the rise of social media and the rapid societal changes of the past decade. While people are offered freedom of speech in their Constitutional rights, many feel as though they must keep their thoughts to themselves to avoid social pariah or isolation. According to a study conducted by the National Library of Medicine, “anonymous survey methods appear to promote greater disclosure of sensitive or stigmatizing information compared to non-anonymous methods”. This information infers a correlation between the withholding of information when a name is attached.

According to our findings, a surprising number of students are deliberately against voting in the November presidential election. The good news is that each young adult has the secrecy of their own ballot for the upcoming election. That anonymity alone shall help students vote as they believe, or not vote at all. There is beauty in the fact that each citizen may choose for themselves what they hope to see reflected in their society. It is important to embrace our individuality and listen to others in order to learn more ourselves.

References

McClain, Colleen. “70% of U.S. Social Media Users Never or Rarely Post or Share about Political, Social Issues.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 4 May 2021, www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/05/04/70-of-u-s-social-media-users-never-or-rarely-post-or-share-about-political-social-issues/. 

Murdoch M, Simon AB, Polusny MA, Bangerter AK, Grill JP, Noorbaloochi S, Partin MR. Impact of different privacy conditions and incentives on survey response rate, participant representativeness, and disclosure of sensitive information: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Med Res Methodol. 2014 Jul 16;14:90. doi: 10.1186/1471-2288-14-90. PMID: 25027174; PMCID: PMC4112969.

“Orange County Registrar of Voters.” Data Central - Registration - Orange County Registrar of Voters, ocvote.gov/datacentral/. Accessed 25 Sept. 2024. 

“Report of Registration - July 5, 2024.” Report of Registration - July 5, 2024 :: California Secretary of State, 5 July 2024, www.sos.ca.gov/elections/report-registration/123day-gen-2024.