对于年轻选民而言，与选举相关的腐败问题不如老一辈那样令人担忧。根据哥伦比亚广播公司（CBS）与YouGov联合进行的一项民调，4%的Z世代表示担心中期选举前的选举舞弊和作弊，而千禧一代为14%，X世代为21%，婴儿潮一代为23%。结果还显示，年轻成年人更担心“不想要的选举结果”。该年龄段有17%的人对此表示担忧，而千禧一代和X世代均为13%，婴儿潮一代为11%。
For younger voters, election-related corruption is less of a concern than for older generations. Four percent of Gen Zers say they're worried about election fraud and cheating ahead of the midterms, compared with 14 percent of millennials, 21 percent of Gen Xers and 23 percent of baby boomers, per a CBS/YouGov poll. The results also show that young adults are more concerned with an “unwanted election outcome.”Seventeen percent of the age group is worried about it, compared with 13 percent of millennials and Gen Xers and 11 percent of boomers.
“总体而言，Z世代不信任华盛顿特区，”青年行动联盟（AYA）执行主任达科塔·霍尔对《国会山报》表示。“华盛顿特区也不会为他们建立信任。信任是在他们家门口建立起来的。”
“Generally, Gen Z does not trust D.C.,” Dakota Hall, executive director of Alliance for Youth Action (AYA), told The Hill. “Nor is trust built for them in D.C. It’s built for them down the street.”
纽约市长佐赫兰·马姆达尼（民主党人）等政客，成为研究年轻成年人对地方政治信任度的一个案例。他致力于修补坑洼路面和篮球场等影响纽约人日常生活的事务，增强了人们对该市政治体系的信心。霍尔引用了播客主持人西奥·冯对马姆达尼的一次采访。“你只是给人们一个喘息的机会，”他对市长说。对霍尔而言，这一概念是年轻选民的关键。
Politicians like New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) serve as a case study into young adults’ trust in local politics. His campaigns to fix potholes and basketball courts, among other things that affect New Yorkers’ everyday lives, foster confidence in the city’s political system. Hall quoted an interview that podcaster Theo Von conducted with Mamdani. “You’re just giving people a chance to breathe,” he told the mayor. To Hall, this concept is key to young voters.
关于华盛顿腐败的报道，包括杰弗里·爱泼斯坦档案或特朗普总统在任期间夸大收入，让Z世代的处境更加模糊不清。青年行动联盟10月的民调发现，在其调查的州份中，政治体系腐败要么与就业和经济并列，要么超过就业和经济，成为年轻成年人的首要关切。“许多人认为腐败就是他们找不到工作的原因，”霍尔说。“许多年轻人支持政府效率部（DOGE）的努力，因为他们认为这会为他们创造公平的竞争环境。”但实际上，随着生活成本上升，经济状况已恶化。
Reports of corruption in Washington, including the Jeffrey Epstein files or President Trump’s inflated earnings while in office, muddy the waters for Generation Z. AYA polling from October found that corruption in the political system either tied or beat jobs and the economy as a top concern for young adults in the states it surveyed. “A lot of people view the corruption as to why they can’t get a job,” Hall said. “A lot of young people were in favor of the DOGE [Department of Government Efficiency] efforts because they thought it would even the playing field for them.”In reality, the economic conditions have worsened as the cost of living has increased.
“年轻人的‘废话探测仪’灵敏度空前之高，他们比人们想象的要知情得多，”霍尔说。Z世代或许不像年长一代那样关注传统媒体，但这并不意味着他们知情程度更低。年轻人在社交媒体上获取新闻，包括来自他们逐渐建立起信任的网红。这类似于他们对地方政治的兴趣：看到熟悉的面孔拆解正在发生的事情及其重要性。政客们将不得不改变信息传递方式以重获信任，而这始于选举。“我们得像正常人那样说话，”霍尔说。“Z世代将在那里推动这种改变。”
“Young people have the highest bulls‑‑‑ meter of all time, and they’re more informed than people believe them to be,” Hall said. Gen Z may not be as tuned in to legacy media as older generations, but that does not make it less informed. Young adults get news on social media, including from influencers they grow to trust. This is similar to their interest in local politics: seeing familiar faces break down what’s happening and why it’s important. Politicians are going to have to change their messaging to regain that trust, and it starts at elections. “We have to talk like normal people,” Hall said. “That’s where Gen Z is going to make that change.”
对于“政府监督项目”政府事务负责人迪伦·赫德勒-戈德特而言，年轻一代更强的媒体理解力或许能解释为何他们不那么突出地关注选举腐败问题。“年轻人在理解方面稍微更胜一筹，尤其是在数字领域——无论是社交媒体、传统互联网还是其他任何地方——他们更擅长区分真实信息和废话，”赫德勒-戈德特告诉《国会山报》。
For Dylan Hedtler‑Gaudette, who leads government affairs at the Project on Government Oversight, younger generations’ better media comprehension might explain their less prominent focus on corrupt elections. “Younger people are a bit more competent at understanding, especially in the sort of digital space, being in social media or the traditional internet or anywhere else, how to make distinctions between actual information and bulls‑‑‑,” Hedtler‑Gaudette told The Hill.
人们告诉Z世代，他们参与投票的每一次选举都是迄今最重要的一次，但这种说法已显重复。一些民调发现，Z世代对中期选举的积极性空前高涨。URGE与HIT Strategies对年轻选民的调查显示，93%的人表示他们“肯定会”或“很可能”参加今年的中期选举。但也有其他民调，如哈佛大学肯尼迪政治学院的民调，发现18至29岁的美国人不如往年热情。
Generation Z has been told that every election it has voted in is the most important one yet, but it’s getting repetitive. Some polls have found that Gen Z is more midterms motivated than ever. An URGE and HIT Strategies survey of young voters found that 93 percent said they “will certainly” or “probably” vote in this year’s midterms. But others, like one from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Politics, found that Americans aged 18-29 are less enthusiastic than in previous years.
33%的年轻美国人表示他们计划肯定在11月投票，低于2018年和2022年中期选举时的40%。该民调还发现，50%的Z世代民主党人计划投票，而共和党人仅为34%。
Thirty-three percent of young Americans said they plan to definitely vote in November, down from the 2018 and 2022 midterms, where 40 percent said the same. The poll also found that 50 percent of Gen Z Democrats plan to vote, compared with 34 percent of Republicans.
大谈判项目对2024年投票率数据的分析探讨了为什么只有不到一半的符合投票资格的Z世代选民前去投票。“年轻人关心政治。他们通过社交媒体和网络高度参与。他们不投票，是因为他们认为投票不会带来任何改变。”大谈判项目写道。“更多的空头承诺和天花乱坠的说辞无法说服他们。Z世代对政治讨好感到幻灭。需要一种新的方式让他们走向投票箱。需要真正的、实实在在的改变。”
An analysis from the Grand Bargain Project on 2024’s voter turnout numbers looked at why fewer than half of eligible Gen Zers showed up. “Young people care. They are highly engaged through social media and online. They do not vote because they do not think it will make any difference,” the Grand Bargain Project wrote. “More empty promises and inspired talking points will not convince them otherwise. Generation Z is disillusioned with political pandering. It will take a new approach to bring them to the ballot box. It will take real, legitimate change.”
一些Z世代人士，例如青年领导力分析师兼Together!首席执行官亚历山大·布朗，已经开始相信年轻人如今明白了自己选票的价值。“Z世代现在感到自己的声音必须转化为选举力量，”布朗告诉《国会山报》。“我们明白，催化剂就是把这种声音转化为我们的选票。”
Some Gen Zers, like Alexander Brown, youth leadership analyst and CEO of Together!, are poised to believe that young adults now understand the value of their vote. “Gen Z is now feeling that their voice has to translate over into electoral power,” Brown told The Hill. “We understand that the catalyst is translating that over to our vote.”
随着汽油和能源价格持续攀升，Z世代在周二可能更有动力出来投票，因为负担能力是他们最关心的问题。“Z世代受到数字趋势和社交媒体的影响，这些平台能够量身定制满足他们的需求。归根结底，Z世代想要的是用通俗易懂的语言把事情拆解开来，了解事情将如何让他们受益，”布朗说。
As gas and energy prices continue to climb, Gen Z may be more motivated to show up on Tuesday, as affordability is top of mind. “Gen Z is influenced by digital trends and social media that are able to tailor to their needs. Ultimately, what Gen Z wants are things broken down into layman’s terms, to know how it will benefit them,” Brown said.
他补充说，过去许多议题都被当作“政治作秀”的一种形式，但如今年轻人面临的问题需要明确的政策变革。布朗预测，Z世代将“成群结队”地出来投票，选举地方、州和联邦领导人。“我们不想过苦日子，”他说。
He added that in the past, a lot of issues have been used as a form of “political theater,” but the issues young adults are facing today require distinct policy change. Gen Z will show up in “droves” to elect local, state and federal leaders, Brown predicts. “We don’t want to live a life of tough times,” he said.
据诺克斯数字公司称，在11月中期选举之前，民主党候选人在TikTok上占据主导地位。1月至10月期间，15%的共和党候选人在该社交媒体平台上发布内容，而民主党候选人的比例为51%。所有候选人视频的浏览量中，民主党候选人获得了76%，共和党获得了24%。TikTok由Z世代主导——美国的56%。
Democratic candidates dominated TikTok ahead of November’s midterms, according to Knox Digital. Fifteen percent of Republican candidates posted on the social media platform between January and October, compared with 51 percent of Democrats. And Democrats received 76 percent of all candidate views, while the GOP received 24 percent. TikTok is dominated by Generation Z — 56 percent of U.S. adults aged 18-24 use the platform, per Pew Research.
皮尤研究中心的数据显示，18至24岁的成年人使用该平台。这些关于政客在该平台上投入内容的洞察，仅展示了他们争取年轻选民的一小部分方式。Knox Digital表示，TikTok揭示了共和党中期选举传播中的一个关键弱点。攻击性内容对民主党表现最佳，但共和党制作的此类视频更多。民主党优先发布关于腐败的内容，包括爱泼斯坦文件、生活成本和医疗保健。
These insights into what politicians are pouring into the platform show a sliver of how they seek out attracting younger voters. TikTok reveals a key weakness in the GOP’s midterms communications, Knox Digital said. Attack content performs best for Democrats, but Republicans make more of those videos. Democrats prioritized posting about corruption, including the Epstein files, the cost of living and healthcare.
与此同时，共和党则聚焦于犯罪与警务、对另一方的攻击以及移民问题。参议员科里·布克（民主党-新泽西州）和众议员布兰登·吉尔（共和党-得克萨斯州）分别在各自党派的TikTok运营中位居榜首。布克获得3.718亿次观看和3080万次互动，吉尔获得2.803亿次观看和2930万次互动。Knox Digital追踪了48个州303名众议院和参议院候选人的TikTok账户，覆盖1月1日至10月23日期间的31,872条视频。
Republicans, meanwhile, focused on crime and policing, attacks on the other party and immigration. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) topped their respective parties’ TikTok takeovers. Booker received 371.8 million views and 30.8 million engagements, and Gill received 280.3 million views and 29.3 million engagements. Knox Digital tracked TikTok accounts of 303 House and Senate candidates across 48 states, covering 31,872 videos between Jan. 1 and Oct. 23.
《The Feed》是由《国会山报》三位Z世代编辑每周整理的Z世代独家报道。我们正努力了解我们这一代政治的门道。请将线索或评论发送至awalker@thehill.com、jfeldstein@thehill.com或cleibowitz@thehill.com。
The Feed is a weekly scoop on Generation Z put together by three Generation Z editors at The Hill. We’re working to understand the ins and outs of our generation’s politics. Send tips or comments to awalker@thehill.com, jfeldstein@thehill.com or cleibowitz@thehill.com.