Milwaukee — The League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County’s (LWVMC) Comité por el voto Latino/Latinx Voter Outreach (CVL-LVO) team released an informal report of findings and recommendations based on responses from a segment of the local Latinx Generation Z population. “Gen Zs”, are young adults between the ages of 18 and 23. The report aggregated 76 responses from a set of questions which reflect their views regarding voting. The survey was conducted between fall 2019 and spring 2020, largely at three college campuses.
“We conducted this informal survey because we are committed to supporting the growth of Latino voters in Milwaukee. We particularly wanted to better understand the ways in which younger Latino populations view the electoral process. They are a big part of the community’s future and can play a leadership role in civic engagement,” stated CVL-LVO Chair, Eloisa Gómez.
Some of the finding include:
- The majority of these respondents were registered voters (79%)
- 98% of those registered stated that they vote
- The majority who were eligible voters stated that voting was very important to them (80%). A majority expressed that they felt their vote makes a difference
- Most shared that they had been involved in some aspect of political involvement
- When asked if their friends vote, 42% said that few of them did
- 31% stated that they did not feel prepared and 25% stated “somewhat” for the upcoming election
- More than half, 53% felt that they wanted more access to information on the candidates and 39% stated that they wanted more information on the electoral process in general.
Three Gen Z members served on the ad hoc committee. “We appreciated the opportunity to explore among our peers their views on voting”, said committee member, Cassidy Korpela. “One thing we learned is that our Gen Z population is struggling to find information to be educated on candidates and/or policies. We need more neutral/factual information,” she further stated.
Nora Gody González, another committee member added, “Working on this report and surveying Gen Z Latinx students also made it clear that the young Latinx voter is an important voting population in the upcoming election. We have to motivate young Latinx voters to exercise their right to vote, and make it clear that their vote does matter.”
The public can access the survey on the League of Women Voters of Milwaukee’s website: www.lwvmilwaukee.org “We ask that you provide us with feedback and you can share that with us through email at: [email protected] ,“ stated committee member, Margarita Garcia Rójas.
The League of Women Voters’ online voter resource, VOTE411.org, has information voters need to register and vote, and includes candidates’ responses to questions on critical issues. VOTE411 information is in English and Spanish.
