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Central Florida political offices focused on Gen Z ahead of Election

Orange County Supervisor of Elections Glen Gilzean speaks at a press conference on National Voter Registration Day. Gilzean said the success of voting and registration relies on teamwork.
Luis-Alfredo Garcia
/
Central Florida Public Media
Orange County Supervisor of Elections Glen Gilzean speaks at a press conference on National Voter Registration Day. Gilzean said the success of voting and registration relies on teamwork.

Lining up to vote is second nature for some Florida residents. In the midst of checking off requirements — proper ID and an updated voter registration status — one thing is noticeably lacking at the polling site.

Or rather, one group.

With November's General Election on the horizon, supervisors of elections and local political leaders are working to increase the number of young voter who pull up to the polls.

Voter turnout here amongst people 18-25 was lackluster in the August Primary. In fact, Central Florida had five of the worst 10 counties across the state in voter turnout in that age group.

Reaching the Right Eyes with the Right Messages

One of the ways political leaders attempt to combat the low voting participation is through digital advertising.

Republicans in Osceola County have used this to their advantage in previous races.

As county-level political parties throughout the state seek successful strategies, some are outsourcing their outreach. RepublicanAds.com, a targeted digital advertising platform, is a resource local Republican parties have used.

The company helped candidates implement targeted advertisements based on factors like age and location.

In 2022, the group worked with candidates in Osceola County. Founder Andy Yates said that targeted ads in politics helps candidates reach the right groups with the right ads.

“If your message is for 18- to 30-year-olds, it should probably be an 18- to 30-year-old delivering that message, or certainly heavily in imagery,” he said.

Yates has worked in politics for 22 years. With his time in the industry, he said it is important to keep up with evolving technology and new avenues.

“I’m surprised as data driven as we’ve all become, and especially in the political world, that people don’t invest earlier and more heavily in digital,” Yates said.

Yates said four of the six candidates the platform worked with were elected to office in 2022.

Although not as novel, advertisements from political parties also include billboards, newsletters and direct mail.

A struggle with physical advertising is proximity to the voters. Marion County Democrats chair Diana Williams said reaching young voters naturally or by mail is difficult after some leave their childhood home.

“Now, we’ve been sending out postcards, and you wouldn’t believe we get so many of them back because people have moved,” she said.

Social Media and its Outreach

Another digital-led form of attracting these voters is social media. Political parties and government offices acknowledged the importance of staying active on popular platforms. Still, the efforts have not sparked much success in certain counties.

In Marion County, Democrats said they’re looking into how they can better reach young voters through platforms the party already uses. The county Democrat party is on Facebook, Instagram, X and TikTok. Williams said part of the battle has been figuring out which platforms are best for reaching Gen Z voters.

“The way they take in information is just not something we’re used to, but we’re working to make it better,” she said.

Williams also believes that messaging is an issue.

“They’re not so worried about Social Security right now. You know, they’re worried about what’s affecting their life. How are they going to pay for the car? How are they going to buy a house?” she said.

Outside of political parties, supervisor of elections offices also recognize the influence social media can have.

Polk County Supervisor of Elections Lori Edwards said the influence of a government office could only go so far.

“People that are kind of community leaders among young people are going to have always – always have more influence and more opportunity to motivate than anybody working in a government office,” she said.

Recent examples of influencers using their platform to show support for certain policies include singer Billie Eilish’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential bid and TikTok star Bryce Hall’s appearance at a Las Vegas Donald Trump rally, which both happened last month.

Despite this insight, Edwards said the office still does its job of informing potential voters through social media channels.

“We know that the method that young people receive their information is different from the way other people might receive it,” she said.

The Seminole, Osceola and Orange County Supervisors of Elections at a conference with the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund. Chris Anderson (left), Mary Jane Arrington (middle) and Glen Gilzean (right) spoke about voter registration.
Luis-Alfredo Garcia
/
Central Florida Public Media
The Seminole, Osceola and Orange County Supervisors of Elections at conference with the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund. Chris Anderson (left), Mary Jane Arrington (middle) and Glen Gilzean (right) spoke about voter registration.

In-Person Persuasion

While going digital allows more people to see the message, questions remain around whether it’s the most effective way to get people to actually vote.

That’s why Supervisor of Elections offices continue to reach out to the youngest voters or soon to be voters in a place most of them cannot avoid: school.

The plan pivots from the perpetual push of phone applications and technology in order to connect on a more personal level.

Research Fellow Victoria Shinker at the Florida Pipeline Project is a fan of making connections in person. Shinker, the former president of UCF’s League of Women Voters Chapter, told Central Florida Public Media’s Engage that influencing others face-to-face brings a sense of humanity and responsibility that outlets like social media cannot.

“We all divide ourselves on the internet, but we have a lot of similarities when we actually talk to one another,” she said. “Well you should look up, ‘register to vote in Florida,’ and we should do it together.”

Orange County Supervisor of Elections Glen Gilzean and his office created a Gen Z poll worker initiative, the first of its kind in Florida. Last month, they visited Lake Highland Preparatory School to get the word out.

“The cool thing is with that generation – they’re not too far off from our friends in college,” he said. “So once they see their friends doing that at that young age, I think that’s going to spark a revolution going forward and getting them engaged.”

He and his office hope the influx of young faces and word-of-mouth will up the number of voters aged 18-29 who vote in the General Election. This group typically makes up 10 percent of Orange County’s General Election vote share.

Polk Supervisor Edwards also makes it a point for her and her staff to frequently visit schools. They have visited at least 24 high schools and 14 colleges for voter registration drives this year. The office also provides facility tours for high school groups.

Edwards’ education engagement does not end there. She turned voter registration into a competition for high schoolers. Every year, the office holds a contest to see which high school gains the greatest number of new registrations and the greatest percentage increase. The winning schools are recognized at a school board meeting once a year with a plaque for display.

Brevard County Supervisor of Elections Tim Bobanic said there is a difference between talking to young voters and engaging them. Bobanic and his office also visit students to explain why their vote matters and how to plan for an election. He said a talking point the county puts a great emphasis on is teaching young voters that there are methods to vote outside of Election Day polling locations.

“We emphasize that Election Day is your last chance to vote,” he said. “It’s your last opportunity, and you have plenty of opportunities before then.”

The deadline to request a mail-in ballot is Oct. 24. Brevard County saw a better turnout of voters aged 18-25 than both Polk and Orange.

But What Are the Numbers?

The August primaries saw many counties throughout the state struggle to bring in young voters. Many of these are in Central Florida.

Primary elections typically see voter turnout that pales in comparison to a General Election, especially during a presidential election year.

Sixty of Florida’s 67 counties provided demographic data from August’s primary election. Despite their absence, historic turnout data indicates that the bottom and top ends of the turnout spectrum would remain the same.

At the state’s absolute bottom was Polk, with just 4.27 percent of its registered 18- to 25-year-olds showing up to vote in the primary election. Central Florida counties joining Polk in the bottom ten are Marion, Orange, Osceola and Volusia.

And, despite the heightened effort from local political leaders and government offices, those counties all saw the demographic’s turnout decrease from the 2022 primary election.

On the flipside, counties at the top of the state in youth turnout include Baker, Lafayette and Taylor. More than thirty percent of their youngest registered voters showed up during the primaries. In correlation with county population, none of these counties had more than 2500 registered 18- to 25-year-olds.

Polk County had more than 45 thousand registered voters in the same young demographic.

Further Down the Ballot

Supervisors of elections throughout Florida emphasized that informing and reaching voters is a continuous effort.

“Well, we do outreach all year long,” Edwards said. “We don’t think it’s something to do right before the election.”

The messaging is typically changed or heightened during election season.

In Polk, the additional outreach looks like working parades, hosting mock elections and sending cards to recent high school graduates.

Efforts to attract these voters will continue far after November’s election. Further attempts to raise county turnout numbers may entail collaboration with other counties, according to Edwards.

She said working with a county of comparable size, such as Brevard, may allow the office to pick up new methods and abandon what does not work.

“I’m going to reach out and find out. Because not only maybe we could do something better, maybe we could do something smarter,” Edwards said.

Outside of direct efforts from government offices and political parties, interested parties are also banking on at least two of the ballot initiatives bringing out young voters – recreational marijuana and enshrining into the state constitution the right to an abortion up until viability.

Oct. 7 is the registration deadline to vote in November’s election.

Corrected: October 2, 2024 at 1:53 PM EDT
This story has been updated to correctly attribute the final quote to Lori Edwards, Polk County Supervisor of Elections.
Luis-Alfredo Garcia is Central Florida Public Media’s inaugural Emerging Journalist Fellow.
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