We need to look at every possible way to ensure a significant Democratic win this year – a win that will beat the Electoral College, gerrymandering, voter roll purges, and restrictive voting laws. A win that is “too big to rig”. One way to do that is to recruit more voters. This includes the young adults in our lives – whether disengaged or leaning toward a particular party.

We need to understand the importance of this election. Our shrugging off the traditional lack of political interest shown by young people must stop. We no longer have the luxury of waiting for them to “politically mature”. We tell them not to drink, smoke, or use drugs. We do all we can to keep them safe and ensure them a better future, but the absolute best way to keep our kids safe is to make sure they continue to live in a Democracy. We can and must be proactive and get them to participate this year.

There are countless variables and pitfalls in talking to our young adults about politics and getting them to vote. There’s no magic formula to this – every kid and household is different. What follows is simply a set of ideas to consider when planning and having these conversations. How it’s done is up to you. Just try.

General Points

Young adults have varying levels of interest in current events and politics. It’s not their fault, they’re still evolving into adulthood. Be patient with them – as we see daily, even adulthood doesn’t guarantee political awareness.

When you aren’t paying attention, and sometimes even when you are, politics often boils down to “boring and blandness” vs. “brazen and bravado”, especially for young men. Trump’s disregard for the rules, flippant cockiness, and flaunting his (feigned) success will often resonate with them more than tedious policy discussions coming from behind a podium. Be prepared for them to have this position.

Even if young adults pay attention to current events, they often miss the impact of policies and events unless they directly impact them (college loan forgiveness, guns, etc.). The further removed something is from their lives, the less likely they’ll notice or even care – even when their lives will ultimately be impacted. Connect the dots for them.

Regardless of the closeness within a family, young adults are often more influenced by their friends. This needs to be kept in mind and might even be part of the conversation – make them aware of potential negative influence from their friends (without attacking their friends).

If they already lean right politically then take things extra slow – there are things to do and not do.

Determine who will talk with them: both parents, one parent, a sibling or two, grandparents, or another close family member. It’s okay to tag-team them, but maybe not simultaneously as that could be seen as an “attack” and place them in a defensive position. Spread these conversations out over time – make them ongoing.

Consider the dynamics of those deeper conversations in your family. Whether they are commonplace, rare but friendly, or taboo flashpoints could influence your approach. You may need to smooth things out or talk about other topics before delving into politics.

Consider your relationship with the young adults in your life, which is often evolving at this point in their lives. If triggers exist, then don’t push those buttons. If you’re a close-knit family then you could make the conversation about how the election will impact the entire family, not just them.

As with most political conversations, this can take some time. You can’t get away with a one-time mention of this stuff. Take your time and don’t force things – that can backfire. It’s usually more beneficial when folks slowly come around on their own.

Talking Points

Because young adults can sometimes have an “it’s mostly about me” mindset, explain to them that they’ll feel the impact of a Trump/Republican government:

• Do they have friends or family who would be vulnerable (religion, race, health, mental health, LGBT, elderly) in a Trump presidency?
• While Trump denies it (with his near-zero credibility), people in his inner circle are talking about mandatory military service. and in some cases planning for it. Hopefully, it won’t be hard to convince your child to vote against becoming canon fodder for a madman.
• You will no longer be allowed to cover their medical insurance up to the age of 26
• The conservative Supreme Court and Republican-led states have already gone after abortion and they’ve signaled that they’re ready to go after contraception next.
• How the loss of your SS and Medicare will directly impact them by limiting how much you can help them later in life.

Remind them that not only are the Republicans planning to hand more of America over to the billionaires, but they’re also fighting against everything the Democrats are doing to help the young adults:

• Fighting climate change
• Reducing gun violence
• Reducing/forgiving college loans
• Expanding healthcare
• Increasing minimum wage
• Preventing corporate purchases of single-family homes (drastically increasing house and rental costs)

It could be that a tough-love reality check is needed, including a sincere but frightening look at some of the long-term or subtle issues that will greatly impact them in the near and distant future. These are things they (and maybe even you) need to be aware of:

• The Republicans and conservative media lie to Americans regularly
• The Republicans are giving billionaires more and more control of our lives
• The influence of Putin on the Republican party
• The influence of Putin on our society and our faith in Democracy
• All the evil packed into “Project 2025”, the Conservatives’ plan for a pro-corporate, pro-authoritarian, and pro-Christian Nationalist America as well as “Agenda 47”, Trump’s blatantly fascist vision that will impact all of us. You, your family, and everyone you know must learn and talk about these.
• This could be the last legitimate election – a Trump win means we will no longer have anything to say about our future.

One-issue voters, third-party voters, and protest voters can do a lot of damage. Unfortunately, many young voters go down this path. They need to be reminded that the only way they will be allowed to vote for their causes in the future is to vote for Democrats now.

• The attack on Palestine is a horrible situation. Trump has already stated he will align with Israel’s far-right government so things will be much worse for Palestine and other vulnerable populations around the world (including here in America) with a Trump win
• Trump is the old guy now – by a lot. He’s old, declining, evil, and a stepping stone for the plutocrats who want to rule America. Not the guy you want in the White House.
• Third-party candidates always benefit Republicans and they were a big reason why AL Gore and Hillary Clinton lost. They typically run on a specific issue or two and do not offer a well-rounded platform. They can even be plants to throw an election. Current third-party frontrunner Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spins Putin’s talking points on his war against Ukraine, conspiracy theories, and junk science. The world is already a very dangerous place, we don’t need to make it worse. A vote for anyone but a Democrat is a vote for Trump.

Other Thoughts

Our young voters are the ones who will save American Democracy, but we have to help them.

They might need to be bribed. Take them out to lunch or dinner after registering and then voting. Paying them will be the best investment you ever make.

Physically take them to register and vote. In many states, you can register online and even register before you are 18 years old.  

You may be friendly enough with the peers of your young voter to reach him or her through them.

If your young adult is engaged with our politics then perhaps he can work on his peers.

These conversations don’t need to be with your offspring – consider relatives, neighbors, co-workers, etc. that seem approachable.

Lastly, do you have friends or other family members with a young adult? If so, share this article with them and suggest they start working on this also. This is especially true if they live in a “purple” area of the country. The absolute best way to get more young people voting is to make it a grassroots effort where older adults across the country reach out to younger voters. It’s the least we can do for them…