By Molly Bond
Millennials are still the least likely age group to vote, according to the U.S.Census. While 18 to 29-year-olds still show the lowest voter turnout per age group, they are also the only group with an increase in voter turnout since 2012.
Matt Holtmeyer, field director for the Don Bacon for Congress campaign, said the lack of young people voting is frustrating, but there is a lot of involvement that people don’t see.
“There are a lot of collegiate groups that are involved in politics, a lot more than people realize,” Holtmeyer said.
Turning Point USA, College Republicans of UNO, College Democrats of UNO, Mavericks Students for Life and Young Americans for Freedom at UNO are just a few of the collegiate groups at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Holtmeyer said this age group is split like many others: some people actively look to get involved,but others do not.
“A big part of any campaign is knocking on doors and making phone calls,” Holtmeyer said,”but we also have a lot of young people reaching out and being excited to get involved in the process.”
Holtmeyer said the Bacon campaign uses multiple strategies to target younger voters who are less inclined to get involved or vote.
“We hold events on college campuses and we speak to college classes as much as we can,” Holtmeyer said.
Holtmeyer said the campaign’s message doesn’t change when they talk to different people, but they use these strategies to help spread the word to multiple audiences. For example, the Bacon campaign staffed a table during the 2018 campus career fair.
“Alot of political science students are looking for a way to get their foot in the door, and working on a campaign is a great way to do that,” Holtmeyer said.
The campaign also offers internships to political science students, with UNO offering college credit for these experiences.
Holtmeyer said the campaign also uses social mediasuch as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Snapchat to reach younger voters.
He said on the Don Bacon for Congress Facebook page receives the most interaction from people of all ages.
Ainsley Hostetler, a UNO sophomore, will vote for the first time on Nov.6. Shesaid she sees all kinds of political material online.
“Whenever I’m on Twitter, different candidates and political posts always pop up on my timeline,” Hosteler said.
Hostetler has seen posts from different political campaigns on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. She said that while she didn’t intentionally seek out these political posts, they have definitely influenced her choices about voting.
“I don’t like the ads that attack other candidates,” Hostetler said. “Candidates could use all that money to talk about their plans and what they’re trying to do instead of bringing someone else down.”
Hostetler said she also hears a lot of political ads on the radio, and “You can’t just scroll past those.”
Hostetler said she isn’t surprised by the lack of young people voting because she thinks it’s harder for students to vote than other people. Hostetler said students must focus on class schedules and work, as well as other time commitments.
“They try and do these things on campus to try and get students engaged,” Hostetler said, “but there are so many other things going on, voting just isn’t a priority for a lot of students.”
