Both major 2024 presidential campaigns decided a viable road to election success was targeting the youth. For years, it has been asserted that young people, who usually vote less than older generations, have the potential to decide any election outcome. 

After incumbent President Joe Biden ended his bid for reelection in July, Vice President Kamala Harris began her efforts as the Democratic candidate. Many notable attempts to gain the support of young voters were used by the Harris-Walz campaign during the four months leading to the November election. 

Considering their popularity amongst the youth, Harris-Walz could have secured North Carolina’s electoral votes with the support of young voters here.

Instead, NC was the first battleground state determined in the 2024 Presidential Election — and voted in support of Republican candidate Donald Trump.

Macy Harris, a first-year in design studies, doubts that any of the bipartisan techniques used could have changed young voter’s plans.

When discussing strategies used by each campaign, Macy Harris said, “I think it’s funny … but I was already gonna vote for Kamala. I see [Trump’s headquarters] do TikTok all the time and I do not want to vote for that man.”

Each campaign used social media platforms popular with youth, like TikTok, in attempts to sway young voters. Other targeted techniques, like the Harris-Walz campaign releasing a Fortnite map a week before Election Day, were specifically designed for these populations.

Both major party candidates campaigned through podcasts as well. Trump was interviewed by the nation’s top podcaster, Joe Rogan, this October. The second most popular podcast, ‘Call Her Daddy,’ interviewed Harris. In both cases, episodes were released less than a month before polls closed.

Mid-October, I saw that music legend Stevie Wonder was coming to North Carolina. It wasn’t until after getting tickets that I realized the tour dates were intended to influence voters in battleground states. I can honestly say that the concert didn’t sway me one way or the other; I just wanted to see Stevie Wonder perform.

“I think that everybody already has their opinion set,” Macy Harris said. “There’s honestly no changing, especially Gen Z’s, opinions. I think that the only opinions that you could maybe sway are people that are older.”

Kendriq Williams, 24, also wasn’t affected by recent campaign techniques. 

“They used rappers to come out to their rallies to get people’s attention,” Williams said. “Personally, it didn’t impact me.”

Williams also believes celebrity support won’t work on most young voters.

“I feel like the tactics work on simple-minded people,” Williams said. “I feel like a regular, rational person, would already have their mind made up and they will go based off of policies.”

At the end of the day, young people weren’t debating who to vote for, but whether to vote at all. 

Reaching voters alone doesn’t guarantee their support. When 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton encouraged young voters to “Pokémon go to the polls,” she ended up creating a cultural phenomenon.

Kusal Sam, a 23-year-old studying data science at Wake Tech, also shared doubts about the effectiveness of targeted techniques doing much more than amusing youth. 

“The intention is to get people to vote, but people will make a meme out of it, make fun of it,” Sam said. “I’ve seen plenty of videos of people playing on [the Harris-Walz] Fortnite map.”

It’s clear that celebrities, social media and video game tactics didn’t work on young voters. 

So, what could?

Jessica Joyner, 42, believes education is the key to motivate young voters. 

“School should start enlightening kids more about voting,” Joyner said. “Just don’t tell them, ‘Oh, go vote.’ No, take them to a field trip to the polls and show them how to vote. … If you just throw a ballot in front of me, I don’t know nothing.”

This kind of information is exactly what young voters need. Unless communities walk the youth through the process, how can they be expected to understand what’s being asked of them on Election Day?

Both Williams and Macy Harris believe policy focus would be better at getting young people to cast ballots for a specific candidate. Advertisements for presidential and local elections frequently focus on individuals comparing their character to their rivals instead of what platforms intend to do. Regardless, this election  wasn’t enough to significantly impact or inspire young voters.

Don’t tell people why someone else is bad — tell them what, and how, you plan to do better. 

Mobilizing young voters isn’t impossible, but to actually get them in the polls, campaigns need a different approach. Any candidate seeking support of young voters needs to inform them on policies and voting mechanics, instead of just getting their attention.