By Andrew Kuder / Broadcast version by Mary Schuermann reporting for the Kent State-Ohio News Connection Collaboration.

Sam Lawrence is running for an Ohio Statehouse seat at 19 years old.

"I've always been one of the kids who watched the news, and I knew what was going on, not to the full extent of, kind of obviously, what I'm involved with now," said Lawrence. "[It was] probably right before high school or early in high school when I really found kind of this interest in the politics of it all, not just in the campaigning, but also in the public service aspect once someone is elected."

Lawrence, a political science major running as a Democrat in Ohio's 47th district, hopes his campaign will inspire other Ohioans his age to get more involved in politics.

"That's one of the reasons I decided to run," said Lawrence. "To inspire other young people, maybe to run themselves, but more importantly, to get involved."

In recent years, younger age groups have shown up to the polls in increasing numbers, with college students having record turnout; 66%, according to CIRCLE, a Tufts University research center focused on youth voting in the 2020 presidential election.

In Ohio, however, only 59.2% of residents ages 18-24 were registered to vote in 2020 and 51.8% actually voted, according to data from the U.S. Census. In comparison, 69.5% of voters ages 25-34 were registered to vote, along with 73.3% of the 35-44 age range, 78.8% of the 45-64 age range, and 84% of citizens aged 65 and older.

By running for the Ohio House, Lawrence hopes to remedy one of the largest deterrents from Gen Z participating in elections: a lack of representation from people in their age group. "The vast majority of our elected officials are above the age of the median population by a significant amount of years," he said. "There is such a large chunk of the population that is not being represented at all."

However, even when young people want to go out to vote, there may be outside factors that make it harder to do so. For example, COVID-19 made registering to vote more difficult for many, since they weren't able to do it in person.

"For a lot of people, including young people, there was confusion over the elections that took place during the pandemic," said Iris Meltzer, President of Ohio's League of Women Voters. "There's a whole slice of a couple of years' worth of high school and college students that did not have the opportunities usually afforded them to register to vote."

The pandemic also increased the demand for absentee voting, which was not widely available in some states. In Ohio, all citizens could register for absentee voting, but it required sending an application by mail, then filling out a ballot and returning it by mail.

"In 2020 we found that youth voter turnout was much higher (57%) in states that automatically mailed absentee ballots to registered voters than in states where people needed an excuse to vote absentee (42%)," said Alberto Medina, Communications Team Lead at CIRCLE, via email.

In addition, some younger voters simply have a difficult time making a decision about who they want to vote for.

"As adults, we assume that it's very easy, and of course you can figure out who you want to vote for, and it isn't that easy," said Meltzer. The League of Women Voters often visits high schools and colleges to help with voter registration.

"Interest in voting isn't some innate quality, it must be taught and nurtured by creating a culture in which youth can develop their voice," added Medina.

Adding to the confusion is changes in the election dates. Because Ohio's electoral maps were held up in court due to a lawsuit over redistricting, the state held a second round of primaries on Aug. 2, covering races and issues that didn't make it to the March primary ballot. Lawrence believes this had an impact on how many people voted during the second round.

"That's why voter engagement here in Butler County was at 6%, because nobody knew that there was an election," he said. "So again, that's the problem that you have with the ruling majority in this state."

Although these issues deter young voters, recent events like the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade have the chance to inspire them to come to the polls in larger numbers. In the August primary, for example, Kansas voted to protect abortion rights in the state by a 58.9% majority, despite being a primarily red state.

"We have a supermajority in the Ohio Statehouse of people who are wanting to take away women's rights and that healthcare decision," said Lawrence, referring to Republicans in Ohio's state Legislature. "So that's what I'm running on, to protect that, and that's what so many on our side are running on, because it's so important."



This collaboration is produced in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.


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North Dakota's June 11 primary is inching closer and those running for legislative seats are trying to win over voters, including Native American candidates who are part of a movement energized by newly drawn political boundaries.

The organization North Dakota Native Vote said there are seven candidates with Indigenous roots seeking spots in the Legislature. Most are running in District 9, which was recently updated to reflect representation needs for two Native American tribes.

Natasha Gourd, a board member of North Dakota Native Vote, described them as a good mixture of candidates coming from both reservations in the area, with some running as Democrats and others as Republicans.

"We've seen an upturn in participation and just getting leadership development through Native candidates," Gourd observed.

The election wave comes after the state saw 10 Native candidates in legislative races two years ago. For her group, Gourd acknowledged the boost can be tricky because they cannot endorse everyone running. But she noted having greater assurances the areas will be represented by people from their community -- no matter if they have a different stance on certain issues -- is still a positive.

Gourd added trying to build on the momentum is also important for off-reservation districts.

"What they do at the state level, regardless of Native American people in North Dakota (being part of) federally recognized tribes, it does affect us," Gourd pointed out. "Most Natives in North Dakota do live off the reservation, so it does affect our populations."

Gourd stressed they need more Native voices at the state level speaking out about priorities within education, the housing crisis, energy issues and health care. She hopes the positive trends they're seeing inspire more civic participation among other racial and ethnic groups trying to get a seat at the policy table in North Dakota.

A new poll finds a near 20-year low in the number of voters who say they have a high interest in the 2024 election, with a majority saying they hold negative views of both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. A group of Arizona elections officials and experts recently gathered to discuss the growing discontent with the state's current electoral landscape.

Stephen Richer, Maricopa County Recorder, said that if politicians are what he calls "single-minded seekers of re-election," he contends the state should change the political incentive structure.

"And if those incentives will change, then maybe we will be talking about more things in the Arizona Voter's Agenda and less things that are currently right now incentivized by what I still believe to be a minority, but a very passionate, very loud, and a minority that is definitely committed to acting on those issues," he said.

Richer added it is important to remember that despite Independent and unaffiliated voters being able to participate in the July 30th statewide primary, they were excluded from the state's March Presidential Preference Election, and that has caught the eye of some in the state. The bipartisan group Make Elections Fair Arizona is pushing for open primaries, but proponents of closed primaries believe they're crucial to maintaining the integrity of party ideals.

Amanda Burke, executive vice president with the non-partisan, nonprofit organization Center for the Future of Arizona, said more than half of unaffiliated voters do not feel they have leaders or candidates running who speak to the issues and causes they care about. She contends that then translates to who decides to show up at the ballot box and vote, and encourages Arizonans to imagine a different primary system if they want different outcomes.

"Otherwise we are going to continue to have some more outcomes in terms of people who are incentivized to speak to a small percentage of their base on either side who are really not representative of the larger views," she explained.

The Grand Canyon State allows voter-initiated amendments to the state constitution, but the Arizona Require Partisan Primary Elections Amendment would add the state's current primary practice to the state constitution, prohibiting future changes without another constitutional amendment. Make Elections Fair Arizona is still collecting signatures to get its measure on the November ballot.


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Wisconsin women have made progress in closing gaps when it comes to being elected to public office.

But some voices worry the movement might slow down as candidates see increasing levels of threats and harassment.

The Brennan Center for Justice recently issued findings that detail the threatening behavior those in the political arena are experiencing now.

Women were three to four times as likely as men to experience abuse targeting their gender.

Erin Vilardi, CEO and founder of the advocacy and assistance group Vote Run Lead, said this creates more unfairness in areas such as resource planning for a campaign.

"We see women candidates and incumbents right now having to pay for security," said Vilardi, "having to put in their budgets, in their campaign funds, in their line-items for their campaigns a security detail."

And Vilardi said because of the worsening climate, the threats are extending to almost all other candidates, including conservative white men.

She and other researchers called on party leaders to strongly condemn political violence. They also recommend that each state implement stronger protection for officeholders.

Vilardi said it's not just women candidates and incumbents having to deal with this behavior. Women working as top aides and political journalists are subject to more hateful rhetoric these days.

"This is something that permeates women in politics," said Vilardi, "not just for the folks that are stepping up to lead but for the ecosystem of women around them."

And if more women decide not to run or seek re-election as a result, Vilardi said this means there will be fewer opportunities for gender equality in leadership positions in state legislatures and Congress.

She urged constituents to send messages of support to women officeholders as they weigh these challenges and their political futures.

Support for this reporting was provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.



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