We asked eight Gen Z voters in Fresno about the election. Here’s what they said.

Fresno County saw record voter turnout in the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, with about 75% of all registered voters turning out to cast their ballot. The number was above average for the nation, which saw about 65% of all eligible voters participate — an average rate trending upward since the 1996 presidential election.  

However, Fresno County also saw near-record low voter turnout in the recent March primaries. Among young voters ages 18-24 in particular, only 13% showed up. Eligible voters ages 25-34 did worse, with only 12% casting ballots.

Ahead of the Nov. 5 election, Fresnoland asked young voters about their perspectives on the upcoming race — including whether they plan to vote and what issues are most pressing to them.

ARI WONG

Ari Wong, 21, sells clothes and was a vendor at the inaugural Why Not Wednesday event.

Wong is registered and plans to vote in the November election. 

This cycle will be his second time voting. He started voting out of high school in 2022 when he was 19 because of family influence. He said he has not encountered any obstacles to voting.

Wong feels the most important issues for young people are income and rent.

AMELIE DAVIS

Amelie Davis, 20, is a full-time student at Fresno State.

The November election will be Davis’ first time participating in the electoral process. She says her family and friends are also registered to vote.

Davis feels the most important issue for people her age surrounds social issues. She also said she hopes both candidates can share similar values on “things like the rights of the people.”

ETHAN SOUSA

Ethan Sousa, 20, is not currently registered to vote, but he plans to. His family is registered to vote.

This will be Sousa’s first time voting in an election. He said he was supposed to vote in the last cycle, but he kept putting it off and ended up forgetting to register. He also feels that the political landscape is bad and that current political candidates are not inspiring. He says he hopes that will motivate more people to be engaged in the election process.

Sousa said the most pressing issues for people his age involve the high cost of living. He would like to hear how candidates plan to make living in the U.S. comfortable for young people entering the workforce without much money saved up.

JACK HOWARD

Jack Howard, 21, is the programming director for the California College Democrats and was previously the president of the Fresno County Young Democrats. 

He first registered to vote in high school through the state’s pre-registration process. He first voted in the 2022 midterms. 

Howard said his friends and family all registered and plan to vote this November. He said his friends all work in similar political spaces, where they’re allowed to be politically active. He said he feels it’s important for people his age to be engaged in the electoral process.

He said he hasn’t encountered any barriers to casting his ballot, but he’s aware that they exist in places including his hometown of Fresno. He said he’s noticed language, socio-economic and intimidation barriers, as obstacles for people in the Central Valley — a region with a majority-minority population. 

Howard said he hopes young people will turn out given how “crucial” the election is — drawing attention to the possibility of a first woman president, as well as the “sustainment of our democracy.” He also drew attention to the down-ballot races, which he has come to appreciate more as a voter. “I think people, especially young people, don’t understand the disproportionate effect that down-ballot races have on their day-to-day lives,” Howard said.

PETER FLEMING

Peter Fleming, 18, will be voting for the first time this November. He only recently registered. Fleming said that both of his parents are registered and plan to vote, as do his friends.

Fleming said the most important issues for him surround trans rights. Though he said some people think people in California don’t have to worry, he drew attention to local jurisdictions and school districts that ban gender-identity materials and force outings. Fleming also said he really cares about affordable housing. 

As a first-time voter, he said he plans to go to a polling center next month to try and soak in the moment he casts his first-ever ballot for a U.S. election. Though he’ll have no obstacles to doing so, he recalls a time when his parents used to have to drive across town to cast their votes.

He said that young people should feel galvanized to vote now since he feels U.S. politics are reaching a “crucial breaking point where stuff is just getting really extreme.” He also said that voters have a chance to make history by voting for the first woman president. He said he remembers how big of a deal it was when Barack Obama was first elected, so when opportunities to make history arrive, people should feel more motivated to go out and vote.

SAMANTHA TOLEDO

Samantha Toledo, 20, has been registered to vote since she got her driver’s license at 18. This will be Toledo’s second time voting, with her first being in the March primaries. She said her family is also registered to vote.

Toledo feels like issues surrounding affordability — specifically for education and the rising cost of living — are what matter most to young voters. 

She said she and some friends will have a ballot party, where they’ll get together to fill out their ballot, talk about some of the races and then go together to a drop box to cast their votes. 

MIA ZAMORA

Mia Zamora, 20, is the president of The League Of Women Voters at Fresno State. She has been pre-registered to vote since she was 16 — the same time she got her driver’s license. 

She feels the topics most important to her and people her age are issues surrounding women’s rights and the environment. Being from the Fresno-Madera area, she also feels issues around transportation are important. 

Zamora jokes that her friends and family are also registered to vote after she forced them to. She said she’s encountered no difficulties in registering, believing that the process attempts to be as easy as possible. 

She also points to the Ballot Bowl — a competition including college campuses across the state to see which student-body can have the most registered voters — as a way to help motivate Fresno State students to register. 

Zamora said she understands that voting and politics, overall, can be intimidating — particularly for young people. However, she wanted to remind people that governments work for the people, and the only way they can accurately reflect the will of the electorate is if the people cast their votes.

BETO VASQUEZ

Beto Velasquez, 22, is not currently registered to vote, but plans to participate in the Nov. 5 election. This would be Velasquez’s second time voting. He said his friends are probably not registered to vote, but his family is.

He said voting isn’t a top priority for him, so he’s not rushing to finish his registration.

Velasquez said he’s also finding it difficult to figure out how to submit his ballot this year. Though he’s a full-time student at Fresno State living in the city, he’s a permanent resident of Tulare County. The decision to either travel back home to cast his ballot or do the research to figure out how to mail it has caused him to deprioritize casting his vote.

In spite of the difficulties Velasquez believes the election process is important, so everybody who can participate should.