Last spring, a single event brought together millions, coast to coast. Organized by a group too young to vote, the March for Our Lives was a political moment in the wake of a national tragedy that sparked a wave of young people to enter the national political spotlight.
At Milwaukee’s march, Destiny DeVooght spoke in front of the crowd of activists and young people. A senior at Union Grove High School, she had found out the day before the rally that she was invited to speak there. After staying up all night to write her speech, DeVooght drove with a group of friends about an hour to Milwaukee for the rally outside the courthouse.
“Every time I think about it, I get so blushy and happy,” she said.
In her small community, DeVooght was already active in politics. She started a student organization against sexual assault and harassment at her high school, organized a walkout at her school to protest gun violence, and landed an internship with an anti-violence organization.
Now DeVooght is on the brink of voting in her first election. In Wisconsin, 18- to 25-year-olds make up about 20 percent of the voting population, but this group has one of the lowest voter turnouts. In 2012, only 38 percent of people 18 to 29 came out to vote in the presidential election.
But the 2018 midterm could be different.
Now, according to a Harvard Institute of Politics poll, 51 percent of young people polled indicated they would “definitely” be voting in November.
For many in Generation Z, or the generation born in the late 1990s to the early 2000s, this midterm election will be their first trip to the polls. While the Millennial youth vote has been closely analyzed, Generation Z hasn’t been studied much. The oldest members of this generation are only 22.
The tides of young people coming out to their local polling places could mark a change for the political atmosphere of the United States, and some of that energy can be traced to the March for Our Lives.
Since the march, young people have remained politically active, even as the media spotlight has shifted elsewhere. Young people are still organizing protests, knocking on doors and encouraging their peers to vote.
For DeVooght, her summer was spent at places like Bradford Beach, registering about 1,000 young people to vote and doing what she calls “grunt work” jobs.
And after spending so much time convincing others to go to the polls, its finally DeVooght’s turn.
“I feel like I’ve been contributing but I’m really excited to officially contribute,” she said. “I’ve been telling them, if you don’t vote you aren’t doing your civic duty, and you aren’t using your privilege to your advantage.”
After the political fever spread through high schools across the United States last spring, some have moved past their time in the spotlight. For others, the work has just started.
Since coming to college at UW-Milwaukee, DeVooght says she has found opportunities because of March for Our Lives. She is now working with the Women’s March organization to bring a team to the UW-Milwaukee campus, which will mirror teams across the country working to get more women involved in politics.
“Our voices collectively matter enough to create the change that will impact our lives in the future,” DeVooght said.