How Bay Area election officials and influencers are getting creative to reach Gen-Z youth voters

Lauren Martinez Image
Thursday, October 31, 2024 3:30PM
How Bay Area election officials are trying to reach Gen-Z youth voters
How Bay Area election officials are trying to reach Gen-Z youth votersDuring the 2024 election, social media trends are being used to target young voters and Gen-Z in Santa Clara County.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- This is the first presidential election where a majority of Gen-Z is eligible to vote, and Bay Area elections officials are getting creative to reach them.

During this election, social media trends are being used to target young voters.

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The team at the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters is creating reels on Instagram and different platforms under their handle SCCVote.

Kaliya Mendez is an Associate Graphic designer for the team.

"I'm Gen-Z, I do my fair share of scrolling and I kind of see it as a way to do research about what I would want to see online," Mendez said.

VIDEO: Experts explain how social media could impact 2024 election

Young voters are engaging with Vice President Kamala Harris's election campaign as it is generating memes and references that are going viral.

She helped create posters and bookmarks with the popular streaming character 'Lofi Girl.'

"It's just like one of the most popular posters that the media team has designed because it's so recognizable for Gen-Z," Mendez said. "There's also this one inspired by an anime film."

On Wednesday the Registrar of Voters office announced more than 7,000 16 and 17-year-olds had pre-registered to vote in the county during this election cycle.

"It's a lot of fun to like, to take stuff that I know Gen-Z will like and be able to make it very voting specific," Mendez said.

MORE: Bay Area communities count down to Election Day as they push to get voters to the polls

For the first time, influencers and content creators had a huge presence at the DNC and RNC.

Many were credentialed as press.

Brilyn Hollyhand is a first-time voter at 18-years-old. He gave his 108,000 followers on Instagram a behind the scenes look at the RNC.

Malynda Hale was invited to the DNC to give her 55,000 and counting followers a firsthand look.

"I think it's very smart to utilize us and utilize our following because we all have different demographics," Hale said. "We all have different mediums in which we present information. You know some people like to do more produced content, I'm very conversational I want you to feel like you're talking to a best friend."

Back at the Registrar of Voters office, bags of ballots from 26 precincts were brought back for counting on Wednesday.

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