2022: Time for New Generations to Rise

Last chance for America? 

Those who recall WWII, and those who fought in or against the Vietnam war, are diminishing in numbers and in power. The time has come for new generations to rise. They need to take control, and they must do so this year, else the structures of democracy will be crushed beyond repair. This is true in New Hampshire, as well as in Washington.
    Political consultants have long known that the more highly educated the person, the more likely they are to value the role government plays in democracy. Millennials and GenZ’ers are the most highly educated generations America has ever seen. They are four times as likely to have graduated high school and twice as likely to have attended college as their grandparents.
      Diversity is the norm for younger voters. 52% of Gen Z members are white; 25%, Hispanic; 14%, Black; and 4%, Asian. 
       Young voters of both parties favor climate action. Nearly half, regardless of party affiliation, prioritize climate action today, even if it means fewer resources to deal with other problems. Only one in four older Republicans agrees. This is not surprising, given that older generations will see less impact.

 Nor is it surprising that the Republican Party strives to constrain youth voting and gerrymander their impact. Young voters are more likely to live in urban areas so they are easier to gerrymander. Also, states like Georgia reduce urban polling locations to create long lines that discourage voting.
        In few states, though, do leaders work as hard to constrain the youth vote as in New Hampshire. You see, in 2017, NH had the highest proportion of college students of any state in the nation: one in eight potential voters! And 70% of those were from out-of-state.
        Governor Sununu expressed his wish to get rid of same-day registration that makes voting easier for college students, immigrants and other new residents. But doing that would have annulled NH’s exclusion from motor-voter requirements that register every driver to vote. Instead, the Republican majority patched together Senate Bill 3. SB3 is a 20-page mishmash of confusing forms and intimidating threats of police visits to your home. The New Hampshire Superior Court unanimously struck down SB3 in July of this year. The governor quickly appealed the decision to the US Supreme Court, hoping for an outcome more to his advantage.
    Fortunately, the rejection is likely to remain in place through November’s state and midterm elections. That gives young New Hampshire voters a better opportunity to stand up, run for office and urge their peers to vote for candidates who prioritize climate action, appreciate diversity and support democracy.
     Millennials and GenZ’ers are the adults with most at stake. If they were to turn out in numbers and vote, they could create landslide elections. The numbers would be too large for gerrymandering and post-election ballot manipulations to hide. We need to alert them, empower them and challenge them to take control of their futures, our future. New Hampshire’s future, America’s future, depends on them.