If your vote matters, why does it sometimes feel like it doesn’t?

For many young people, voting isn’t always straightforward. Between political polarization, complicated voting logistics, disappointment with candidates, and the feeling that elected officials aren’t listening, it’s easy to wonder whether showing up makes a difference.

And the numbers suggest there’s room for more engagement. In the 2024 general election, King County voters ages 18–24 cast fewer ballots than any other age group. So what’s behind the disconnect? And what would it take to change it?

In this episode of the Hourglass United Way of King County podcast, young professionals share why they vote, why others might sit one out, and how everything from local elections to organizing and advocacy can shape the communities we call home. Because civic engagement doesn’t start and end at the ballot box—and understanding what matters to the next generation starts with listening.

Please see the podcast transcript below. You can also listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and our website.

Hourglass Episode #143: Some Say, “We Must Vote!” Others Ask, “Why Bother?”

MK Knuth 0:01
I’ll shout it from any rooftop that like voting is an essential right that we should be taking very seriously and leaning into. And not only advocating for ourselves with our votes, but advocating for people who may not have the right to vote yet.

Cam Turner 0:14
We feel pressured not to receive criticism, so you kind of don’t vote, instead of voting, because you’re scared of what other people think.

Joe Burris 0:24
This is Hourglass, the podcast for United Way of King County in Seattle. Coming up, the third episode in a series about civic engagement leading up to this year’s midterm elections. Hourglass sat down with young people who are already of voting age, and some who will be eligible to vote in our next presidential election, for a conversation about why many young people are eager to cast ballots, and why others believe voting doesn’t make a difference. We will also spotlight our new giving program, United Circle, and an upcoming Happy Hour and Hellos event at Nordstrom Bellevue. I’m your host Joe Burris. Thanks for tuning in.

Joe Burris 1:10
University of Washington student Cam Turner prioritizes voting, particularly in Washington State, whose electoral process is more user-friendly than in their home state of Texas. Yet Cam says that, though their family includes several people of voting age, only they and their mother cast ballots in elections. Others in their family are scarcely convinced that voting makes a difference. They are a Black family in a majority white rural area, and candidates that Black people endorse seldom win. ‘What’s the use?’ Their family says. Try as Cam might, they cannot convince their family members to see things differently.

Cam Turner 1:53
It’s hard for me because I’ve always been very civic-minded. I’m studying public policy, and so it it’s difficult because I want it to matter, and when you’re trying to explain, ‘well, maybe if we all do something, then it could mean something,’ or things like that, and people don’t believe you. It feels bad. You start to feel very sad, and it’s very easy to fall into that hopelessness of well, ‘if everybody’s saying that, then maybe it really doesn’t mean anything,’ which I think is kind of an ouroboros of not getting anything done.

Joe Burris 2:26
We live in a nation that has become increasingly polarized, with lines clearly drawn along issues such as immigration, racial and gender equity, and religion. But there is one division that doesn’t garner as much attention, and it’s arguably one of the most important right now, as we once again get to decide who represents us in state, local, and federal government. There are those who insist that voting makes a difference, and those convinced that it doesn’t. Both sides stand firm in their resolve; both can point out examples that support their claims. Yet both care just as much about our country’s status quo, and they share the same frustration that government doesn’t always address what matters most to them. Disagreements over the impact of voting can be heard across generations, but particularly among young voters, whose voting habits may decide the future direction of our country for years to come. According to data from the Washington Secretary of State’s office, in the 2024 general election, voters aged 18 to 24 in King County cast the fewest ballots of any age group; voters aged 25 to 34 and those 65 and older cast nearly twice as many votes, respectively. The same goes for all of Washington State. In the 2024 general election, voters aged 18 to 24 trailed all other age groups who voted by at least 200,000 ballots cast. At United Way of King County, we advocate for systemic change to address harmful policies that have impacted our communities for generations. We desire to keep people informed about public policy, and we encourage them to be actively involved in civic engagement. Yet we also create spaces where people can have open and constructive discussions about issues plaguing our communities. This episode of Hourglass is the third in a series about civic engagement leading up to this year’s midterm elections. We focus specifically on voting attitudes of young people. We sat down with some who are already of voting age, and some who will be eligible to vote in the 2028 presidential election, for a conversation about why many young people are eager to cast ballots, and why others believe voting doesn’t make a difference. We begin with Cam, who explained why voting is important to them, even despite misgivings about candidates and some ballot initiatives.

Cam Turner 5:10
I’m very excited. I grew up in a state that didn’t really have fair elections, necessarily because it was so gerrymandered in the South, and so moving up here to be able to participate in a process that makes me feel valued is really, really exciting for me. Getting the little pamphlets that have all the information and the candidates in them, I never had that before. And so it was really big for me when I first moved here. And I feel mostly excited about it, but I’m—my biggest reservations are that this feels bad to say, but I actually have to do research into the candidates because it’s not just red versus blue. You know, one person who would like you to have rights and the other one who could be indifferent about it, either which way. And so I actually do have to do a little bit of digging to see what the candidates believe in and what they’re doing and their history. But right now, I am just excited for local elections. I’m excited for state elections. We do have a couple of things on the ballot that I am very uncomfortable with, but the fact that they can be on the ballot in the first place, I think, is a good thing. Even if what they’re advocating for isn’t great.

Joe Burris 6:31
Mmhmm.

Cam Turner 6:32
I’m kind of dreading 2028 elections. Not because I think something bad will happen, but because I know that it could really go either way everywhere. And we’ve got great federal candidates. I’ll say we are leaning a little old, and that’s fine. But it does get to a point where you’re like, you’ve got lawmakers that you’re not really sure are going to live to see the consequences of their legislation.

Joe Burris 7:12
Yes, true.

Cam Turner 7:12
And that is definitely, it definitely makes you feel less excited to vote. I think.

Joe Burris 7:19
Okay.

Cam Turner 7:20
You know what else are you going to do?

Joe Burris 7:25
Now, I know what it’s like to vote in the South. I grew up in South Carolina. I lived in Virginia. I know what it’s like to vote in the Northeast and in D.C. Having lived in all of those places, what is it like to vote in the state of Texas?

Cam Turner 7:46
I moved when I was 18, but I went with my mom a lot, and it was just a hassle to have to you had to do you had to jump through a couple of hoops to register in the first place. Okay, and when you live in a rural area, you might not have a nearby election office, which means you have to take time out of your day, maybe out of your workday, and drive down to wherever it is, and then you go, and you do your registration, and then you hope that they don’t, you know, purge you off the voting list before you notice, and then you go to the ballot, you go to the ballot box, the election place. I think for us it was in our, like, a Knights of Columbus hall, and so, you know, you drive there. I want to say they had it in, like, a weird little machine thing. For my mom, it was kind of hard to read because, you know, when you’re in an area that doesn’t have a lot of technology generally, then having to, you know, click through all the little buttons can be very complicated, but it doesn’t really—like, when I talk to my mom about it, we kind of have the same thoughts—but it doesn’t feel like it does anything.

Joe Burris 8:57
Oh, wow.

Cam Turner 8:58
Because, you know, when you’re—especially when you’re black in a rural area that is predominantly white, it doesn’t feel like it means anything.

Joe Burris 9:07
Wow.

Cam Turner 9:07
And so, you know, my mom’s the only one in my family that votes, even though you know I’ve got two brothers. They’re kids, but well, one of them just turned 21, so he’s an adult—

Joe Burris 9:17
So they’re voting age?

Cam Turner 9:18
Yeah. My middle brother is, and he doesn’t vote either.

Joe Burris 9:23
Why not?

Cam Turner 9:23
Because he doesn’t think that it’ll do anything. He doesn’t really see a point in it. If you know, Texas has always been Republican for as long as he’s been alive, even though, you know, historically it’s been blue. You know, we sent Lyndon B. Johnson to the White House. He was a Democrat, but I think that’s just kind of the thing. If you’re not partial to one specific party in an area that has always been the other party,

Joe Burris 9:52
Mmhmm.

Cam Turner 9:53
It just feels useless.

Joe Burris 9:55
Right, right. Here, the process is so open. It’s it’s heavily tilted toward opportunities to do it, and almost encourages you to do. You almost have to go away not to do it. What’s it like to be in an environment where people say, “What’s the use?” and you can resonate with what they’re saying. Your brother, he says, “What’s the use? The vote won’t count.” And you can—

Cam Turner 10:26
Yeah.

Joe Burris 10:26
You can understand why, you know, I can see looking around. What is it like to be in that kind of environment where someone says that—without even casting any kind of aspersions on them—but you can understand why they feel the way that they feel?

Cam Turner 10:42
It’s hard for me because I’ve always been very civic-minded. I’m studying public policy, and so it’s difficult because I want it to matter. And when you’re trying to explain, ‘well, maybe if we all do something, then it could mean something,’ or things like that. And people don’t believe you. It feels bad. You start to feel very sad and kind of just. It’s very easy to fall into that hopelessness of ‘well, if everybody’s saying that, then maybe it really doesn’t mean anything.’ Which I think is kind of an ouroboros of not getting anything done.

Joe Burris 11:19
And how much of that has to do with your concern about 2028?

Cam Turner 11:24
I think a lot. Because here I’m not really worried about too much, but when I think about growing up in Texas, I’m like—I know for my folks and like my community back home, it’s hard to think about because they want things to change, and there’s so much there that could change, and people just don’t feel like it will. And I falling into that mindset guarantees that it won’t. And there’s just such an anxiety there that being upset about what’s happening won’t inspire you to do something about it. That’s like the biggest thing: not feeling like other people will also join in.

Joe Burris 12:14
Now, Cam, in terms of sentiments about voting that you see from folks where you grew up in Texas, how much do you sense that from young people in general who don’t vote?

Cam Turner 12:25
I think a lot of young people feel disincentivized, also, because of the way that our political parties are so polarized. There’s a sense of, “well, neither party does anything for me, so why should I vote? Because independents don’t get anywhere.” And I think that there’s something to be said about the way that younger people—to be specific about parties—a lot of younger, more liberal people kind of feel that because the parties that they vote for don’t go as far as they would like them to go. So, like, if you’re liberal and the Democratic Party doesn’t go as far left as you would like it to go, then instead of, you know, leaning into that, because lesser evil is not fun to think about at all. And if you kind of subscribe to that thought of, “oh, one’s bad and then the other is worse.” Then you don’t really feel like doing anything with that. And I think that just leans into the “nothing ever changes” mindset.

Joe Burris 13:35
Right.

Cam Turner 13:35
It’s really easy to think that because neither side really leans into what you want or what you think that you need. It just it’s it’s very easy to to fall into the sense of doom, the sense of pessimism, and you kind of you feel disillusioned with the whole thing.

Joe Burris 13:59
Still, there are many young people who, despite their misgivings, believe in the power of voting and cast ballots during each election cycle. Hourglass met up with a few during a recent visit to Tutta Bella Pizzeria in Seattle, where dozens of young professionals gathered for another United Way of King County Happy Hour and Hello’s event. Everyone we spoke to said they look forward to voting each year. They included Grant Little, an Amazon worker from Alabama, who said that he is still focused on the races in his home state.

Grant Little 14:33
Do I vote yes? Do I think voting is important? Absolutely. I think, though, being you know from Alabama, which we have a very big governor, you know, our governor is up for election, and there’s very clearly two different sides that are running, and so I think I’m much more, I guess, connected to that race.

Joe Burris 14:52
Okay,

Grant Little 14:52
I would say with Seattle, maybe where I need to get more educated on issues is obviously—I can kind of think we have a bit of a thought bubble here of like a lot of echo chamber, a lot of people think the same—but then you realize like there are also a lot of issues on the ballot. You’re not just voting for people; you’re also voting for positions. You’re voting for advancing different legislation. And so, sorry, long-winded way of saying: I feel, you know, anxious, but I also feel empowered that at least my voice is being heard, and you know, I can kind of put my thoughts into writing when I vote.

Joe Burris 15:30
M.K. Knuth, who works at Sensiba, said that she and her husband vote together each year and relish the process, even though they don’t always agree on the issues.

MK Knuth 15:41
For me, as a voter, and I feel like it’s a right that I’m so grateful to have. I think it’s something that we should absolutely take very seriously. I have a lot of friends and family members who are of the mindset of, like, “Well, my vote won’t count, so why would I vote?” Why not? Like, we have so much. I think my general sense of this election and these midterms is that so many people have lost focus on the impact that we can have as individuals and the impact we can have as collectives. And I think it can be hard to convince people of that when you can feel so small in such a big environment, like a political environment. But every vote does count. And so, I’ll shout it from any rooftop that voting is an essential right that we should be taking very seriously and leaning into, and not only advocating for ourselves with our votes, but advocating for people who may not have the right to vote yet. Whether those are children, immigrants, or people who are like the fabric of the country. Our vote affects everything. And so I am waiting to submit my ballot because my husband and I—I vote for my own beliefs and everything—but my husband and I do like to discuss. Like, okay, who did you vote for? Would love to hear your reasons. We don’t always agree on everything. We agree on most things, but we just like to discuss. And he has not gotten his ballot yet, so he’s probably going to print his off tomorrow and then submit it. But we submit our ballots together for every election. Just, you know, I saw something the other day where it was like living in a household where you can discuss politics in a very real way is an unrealized benefit, and we do that day in and day out. And I, I know this again, long-winded, but I think voting is essential. I think being a part of a community like Seattle and here in Washington, you get to submit our votes by mail. What a joy! I still drop mine off at ballot boxes, and I think that’s really fun. And the more I learn about voting here, the more I’m just like, “What a cool process!” I feel very lucky.

Joe Burris 18:01
Some young adult sentiments about voting are shared by those who aren’t yet of voting age. Hourglass recently traveled to Lumen Field for the Seattle Seahawks Leadership Beyond the Field, an inaugural career and leadership development program for approximately 300 high school juniors and seniors from more than 75 schools in our area. We spoke to three 16-year-olds who will be eligible to vote in the 2028 election. First, we chatted with Nathan Bizrat of Chief Sealth International High School and Caduce Sampson of Auburn Riverside High School. They offered a sense of what they’re thinking about leading up to when they will be of voting age. First, Nathan offers his take on voting.

Nathan Bizrat 18:51
I feel like, in general, when it comes to voting, it comes with a lot of research, too. Because when you vote for something, you have to have research or you have to have knowledge of what you’re voting for, and I feel like what most teens, or like most people who are under the age of 16 or 18, feel pressure not to vote is not because of what they choose. It’s because of how other people think of them. You see on social media where there’s certain propaganda, for example, like if you support a community, “oh, you’re this, oh, you’re that.” If you support another community, you’re this, or you’re that, you know. It’s like you feel pressured not to receive criticism, so you kind of don’t vote instead of voting because you’re scared of what other people think.

Joe Burris 19:30
Wow!

Caduce Sampson 19:33
Yeah, I agree a lot with what Nathan said. I feel like younger kids don’t really know, or like younger people in general don’t really know, like, what they were to vote to. And like, for example, if I was voting, I would do a lot of extensive research, and that’s just me as a person. If I’m gonna buy something or go into something, I’m gonna do research on it before I go into it. But a lot of people kind of don’t want to be fit into a stereotype. Like, if they vote for something and it goes badly, they might be fit into a stereotype of, “Oh, this is bad; oh, you supported this, so you’re a bad person” or something, and that might be one reason why younger people are scared to vote.

Joe Burris 20:15
Well, do you think that the politicians that are out here now are listening to you?

Caduce Sampson 20:22
Why not?

Nathan Bizrat 20:23
I don’t think politicians are listening to us. I’ll say, for example, the Democrat and the Republican parties both hold accountable for some certain things, so no party is right in the first place. But I have seen some parties, like, kind of, like, kind of go towards a certain, like, agenda, and they kind of, like, backfire on, like, certain communities. So, like, it’s kind of, like, heartbroken. But, like, I feel like in general, both parties, like, serve a certain, like, agenda. So it’s kind of hard to, like, choose which side? I don’t know how to explain. It’s very complex. It’s very hard.

Joe Burris 21:04
Between now and the time you’re of voting age—which should be 2028, the next presidential election—Right?

Caduce Sampson 21:13
Yes.

Joe Burris 21:13
What do you plan to do to prepare yourself for that moment when you are voting age?

Nathan Bizrat 21:20
The first thing I’ll do as a minor, and in Gen Z, I believe that you have to do research. So, like, for example, not just research on like parties, but research on the news that you receive. So, certain news programs that you’re watching, you gotta know if they’re leaning right or leaning left. I prefer that it’s in the middle because it’s non-biased. When it’s non-biased, it’ll give you straight information. I believe those are better news sources, or you can just do your own research if you don’t believe in news, because they could get paid by a certain community.

Caduce Sampson 21:52
I agree with what you said. Extensive research would be needed, and I feel like not listening to what the political leaders say that they’re gonna do is a big thing because a lot of them will say, “oh, they might do this,” or a political party might say, “oh, we’re gonna help lower this or bring this up or whatever.” And I feel like looking at what they actually did during their terms or looking at what they did when they were in the parts and the roles is more important than what they actually say they will do.

Joe Burris 22:24
Okay, this is last. On a scale of one to 10, with 1 being I have no interest and 10 being I’m excited about it. How excited are you to become of voting age? For me

Nathan Bizrat 22:36
For me personally, it honestly depends on the 2028 election and which candidate the Democratic and Republican parties choose, but based on the information we have now and the estimates, I’ll probably give it an eight or nine because I feel like this is an important election coming up in 2028. Like, it will define how I’ll be able to afford a house or how will I manage to have kids without wanting to live paycheck to paycheck, so this is very important election in my opinion, and I will be voting.

Joe Burris 23:05
Okay.

Caduce Sampson 23:06
Um, for me, on a scale of one through 10, I’m like a six. I’m not really, I’m not excited for it, but I want to see what the political leaders might be saying or might be doing to try and bring up their stuff, and then I want to see what they will possibly help out with to help me as well as other people.

Joe Burris 23:29
Lastly, we spoke to Isaiah Goodspeed of Chief Sealth International, who said that on a scale of one to 10, he would give his eagerness to vote an eight or a nine.

Isaiah Godspeed 23:39
Mainly because I want to have, like, a say in what I do, and I know many people, like, don’t like to vote. Not about, like, generalizing it, but like don’t like to vote because they feel like it’s one vote’s not going to count. But then that adds up, and then there’s really just, like, not many people voting. I feel like it’s important because every little effect of those laws really affects our lives. So you should want to stand for what you want.

Joe Burris 24:11
Amanda Sandoval, United Way Director of Systems Change and Public Policy, said in a recent Hourglass podcast that voting participation is not only essential, but it is just one aspect of civic engagement everyone should practice.

Amanda Sandoval 24:27
If your vote didn’t matter, why are they unregistering people? Why are they closing poll places early? And so, your vote matters. You should vote. And I think the biggest thing people are like, well, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t affect me. Local elections affect everything. It is, you know, how much money we get for roads and what curriculum is going to be taught in school. Who’s going to, you know, represent your community at the state level, at the local level, in school boards, all of that stuff. And so I think making them understand how it really does impact their daily life. And also I think there’s this other side where people are so radical and they’re like, “well, no, we’re gonna protest, and we’re gonna organize, and like we’re gonna be outside the system,” and it’s like someone far smarter than me said this, and someone sent me the video, and it says, ” Don’t be so revolutionary that you think electoral politics never matters, and don’t be so moderate that you think it’s the only thing that matters.” And I think it’s so true. And we need to find, like, a good middle ground.

Joe Burris 25:28
So how do both sides, those who vote and those who don’t, meet in the middle? Perhaps to understand the discontent and an action that’s rooted in failed results, while still believing that come what may, we must take part in the electoral process. We closed our discussion by posing that question to Cam.

Cam Turner 25:49
Oh man, that’s a that’s a good question. At least with other young people, it’s a little easier for me to speak to that. I think social media is probably the biggest thing because it gets to so many people at once. One idea just goes everywhere, and I think just focusing efforts on building hope, on building momentum, on pointing out that it only takes a couple of votes to change one thing, you know, it doesn’t have to be everybody. But if you get, you know, 100 more, 1000 more votes, that tilts the scale enough. It’s really just getting people back into feeling like their votes matter. Maybe encouraging younger people to run for office. I think— also something I’ve been kind of doing is, you know, talking to my peers, being like, “Oh, you know, if you don’t like the way it’s looking, do something about it.”

Joe Burris 26:55
Be the change you want to see, right? Great. Thank you so much. I really appreciate your time today on Hourglass.

Cam Turner 27:01
Yeah, happy to help. Glad to be here.

Joe Burris 27:05
For more information about voting in Washington State, log on to the Secretary of State’s website at so swa.gov/elections. To learn more about United Way’s advocacy and public policy work. Log on to uwkc.org, click on What We Do, and click Advocacy.

Joe Burris 27:32
Join us for Happy Hour and Hellos at the Icon Lounge at Nordstrom in Bellevue Square on December 8 at 6 pm. The December 8th event in Bellevue will center on professional development and networking. Photographers will be available to take free headshots, and we will offer professional development activities. For more information, log on to uwkc.org/events.

Joe Burris 28:01
We’re inviting you to join United Circle, our monthly giving program. United Circle is a community of monthly supporters that help create a stronger King County all year long. Your recurring gift provides reliable support for our work, including expanding access to housing, food, educational opportunity, and financial stability for our neighbors. For more information, log on to uwkc.org/united-circle. At United Way of King County, we are working side by side with communities to build an equitable future for everyone.

Joe Burris 28:43
Hourglass United Way is a podcast that highlights how we and our partners spend time making a difference in our communities. Our work is made possible by generous donations from people like you. Please send all comments and suggestions about our podcast to hourglass@uwkc.org. Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn via at United Way KC. And to learn more about our work or to support United Way, log on to uwkc.org. I’m your host, Joe Burris. Thanks for listening. Until next time.