Can the ‘meme-ification' of Kamala Harris save declining youth voter turnout in Mass.?

"Brat summer" launched Charli XCX back to the top of billboard charts, covered social media in a bright neon green hue, and even refreshed the energy and excitement of the Democratic party after their de-facto nomination of Vice President Kamala Harris. But it could still have an especially interesting impact on young people in Massachusetts.

While young voter rates are on the rise nationwide, disillusionment and disinterest have caused a slump in Massachusetts -- voting experts are hopeful that Harris' excitement with youth online could change that.

"If there’s one overarching theme in everything I’ve seen since President Biden withdrew from the race, it’s this: young people haven’t been this excited about politics in quite some time," said Jordan Schwartz, co-chair of the Harvard Votes Challenge.

According to the Tufts' Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), Massachusetts' 33.3% turnout rate for young voters in 2018 fell to only 18.5% in 2022, the largest percent change of all 50 states.

Election experts do stress that turnout rates drop across all states and ages during midterms. But even in 2020, Massachusetts youth voted only at 2% higher than the national average, a benchmark the state has a long history of surpassing. 

Experts at CIRCLE emphasized that Gen Z feels a stronger attraction to issues over parties. According to Ruby Belle Booth, a researcher at CIRCLE, "they're more likely to be independent, and they derive less community and identity from political parties. As an alternative, they're really motivated by the issues they care about."

Young voters we spoke to echoed this sentiment, especially in their disappointment with current candidates' handling of said issues.

"We're getting a lot of candidates that no one's excited about, and it's candidates who actually don't care about their voters and voter issues," said Rachel, who was 29 during the last midterm elections. "What's the appeal of voting for people who aren't going to represent you?"

Voters also echoed how important social media was to their ability to stay politically informed, and how social media coverage has transformed since the announcement of Harris' candidacy.

Keenan, a 22-year-old voter in Cambridge, thought Biden's depiction on social media was "pretty negative, for the most part." He felt there was a "lack of interest" around Biden, making his impact less powerful than the "news and chaos" that surrounded former President Donald Trump during Gen Z's coming of age.

But for Harris, her campaign's social media strategy has "[catered] to young voters in a way we haven't seen from presidential candidates in the past," said Julia High, Schwartz' co-chair of the Harvard Votes Challenge.

"The Harris campaign social media content has been funny and relatable—most importantly, it has made some young voters feel valued," said High to NBC10 Boston.

The campaign's page has exploded on Tiktok, gaining over two million followers since their rebrand from @bidenhq two weeks ago. Their videos, from dancing edits to footage of Harris visiting the Rupaul's Drag Race Werk Room, have spiked to millions of views, peaking at 54.1 million with an edit to Chappell Roan's Femininomenon.

"I have never seen this much positive political content before on social media. Between the coconut trees, 'Brat' themes, and references to all in which we live and what came before, the memes are flying every which way and are oddly optimistic," Schwartz said. "The Internet has taken a bunch of Vice President Harris's gaffes and turned them into sources of youthful energy, which is so very refreshing."

Of course, Harris hasn't been exempt from Gen Z's criticism. Young voters made it clear that "there's still some criticizing, and of course no candidate is ever going to be perfect," but that "there's been a new life breathed in" since Harris announced her candidacy.

Researchers urge that it's still unknown "how reflective" this digital craze will be of the fall 2024 results. "Many [young people] are likely still gathering information on VP Harris, and she has only just begun to make a case for herself to the electorate, including differentiating herself from President Biden," said Booth.

That said, voting organizers still view the excitement as a source of hope for their efforts in November.

"Our goal will be to keep the enthusiasm of the past few days alive for as long as we can, and if it can carry on through November 5, it may end up being a good year for the youth vote after all," said Schwartz.