Sarah Aezer 7/26/18 ETHS 2430 Research Project

Part One: The Problem

According to the United States Census Bureau, voter turn out varies in a

myriad of ways, one of which is race. Looking at the data gathered on voter turn out

in presidential elections from 1980 to 2016, we could examine how participation

differs with race. This data represents four racial categories: White, Black, Hispanic,

and “Other.” In the graph labeled ‘Figure 2,’ we see that White people have

historically had the highest voter turn out with the exception of the 2012 election,

and Hispanics have historically had the lowest voter rates in every election except

the 2000 election (where they barely surpassed the “Other” category by 1%) (File,

2017, 1).

From 1980-2012, the number of White voters had a trend of steadily

decreasing, while the other categories steadily increased. In 2016, however, White

voters did not increase and Black voters decreased. As seen in the graph titled

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Figure 3, Hispanic voters have continued to increase, beginning at 2.6% in 1980, and

arriving at 9.2% thirty-six years later (File, 2017, 1).

The racial makeup of the United States population must be taken into

account when examining voter turn out by race. Currently, the U.S. is made up of

76.6% White people, 18.1% Hispanic people, 13.4% Black people, and 10% other.

When we consider that Hispanic people make up 18.1% of our population and only

9.2% of them are showing up to vote, it is clear that voter turn out is an issue

amongst the Hispanic population (File, 2017, 1.)

Another way in which voter turn out varies is by age. When we examine

voter turn out by age, voters are again split into four different categories: 18-29, 30-

44, 45-64, 65 and older. Those in the two oldest categories (45-64, 65 and older)

have historically had negligible differences in voter turn out, and have stayed at a

consistently higher percentage than the younger voters. 18-29 year olds have had

the lowest percentage of voters in every election since 1980. In 2016, every

category saw a decrease except the 18-29 year olds, though their increase closed the

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gap by only a miniscule amount. As evidenced in Figure 4, the last presidential saw

46.1% of 18-29 year olds voting, and a whopping 70.9% of voters age 65 and older

(File, 2017, 1).

When considering age, we must also look at the age makeup of the U.S. The

past four generations have been the Baby Boomers (’47-’65), Generation X (’66-’81),

Millennials (’82-’99), and Generation Z (’00-’16). Generation Z consists of 73 million

people who have yet to be of voting age. Millennials are the largest generation at 79

million, but are consistently outvoted by the Boomers (75 million) and Generation X

(65 million) (“US Population By Age and Generation”, 2018, 1).

When the composition of the United States’ Congress is considered, one

would hope that it would reflect the population that it represents. If percentages of

races making up congress matched the general population, there would be around

76% White members, 18% Hispanic members, 13% Black members, and 10%

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members of other races. What we see in reality is 80% White members, 10% Black

members, 7.8% Hispanic members, and 2% members of other races. This current

congress composition is the most diverse this country has ever seen (Marcos, 2017,

1).

One might wonder why accurate racial representation in government would

matter at all. One study examines the ways in which minority legislators impact

policy. While race does not always translate directly to advocacy, the study found

that in bill sponsorship, Black and Latino legislators were more likely to represent

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their particular race’s interests and concerns. Policies favored by minority

constituents are being initiated and adopted by the minority congress members

representing them. Political policy leads to benefits or disparities in economic

matters, in healthcare, in infrastructure of communities, in environmental matters,

in human rights, and numerous other categories (Penn, 2015, 1). In addition, lack of

representation may also affect the self-esteem of minorities. Nicole Martins of

Indiana University said of media representation, “There’s this body of research and

a term known as ‘symbolic annihilation,’ which is the idea that if you don’t see

people like you in the media you consume, you must somehow be unimportant.”

This idea may apply to political representation as well. People who see others of

their race in positions of power and prestige could have higher self-esteem and may

be more apt to achieve power and prestige for themselves (Boboltz, Yam, 2017, 1).

References

Boboltz, Sara, and Kimberly Yam. “Why On-Screen Representation Actually Matters.” The Huffington
Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 24 Feb. 2017, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/why-on-screen-
representation-matters_us_58aeae96e4b01406012fe49d.

File, Thom. “Voting in America: A Look at the 2016 Presidential Election.” U.S. Trade with Haiti,
www.census.gov/newsroom/blogs/random-samplings/2017/05/voting_in_america.html.

Marcos, Cristina. “115th Congress Will Be Most Racially Diverse in History.” TheHill, The Hill, 12 June
2017, thehill.com/homenews/house/306480-115th-congress-will-be-most-racially-diverse-in-
history.

Penn, Joanna. “When and Why Minority Legislators Matter.” Journalist’s Resource, 26 June 2015,
journalistsresource.org/studies/society/race-society/when-why-minority-legislators-matter.

“US Population by Age and Generation.” Knoema, Knoema, 7 May 2018, knoema.com/egyydzc/us-
population-by-age-and-generation.

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Part Two: The Solution

In my line of work, I spend time with Generation Z. I not only feel its

important to improve the self-esteem of Hispanic teens by helping them attain

representation in government, but I also see the potential of this generation to

create equality if given the confidence to do so. I figured the best way to make any

change with today’s youth was through the Internet. I interviewed Mr. Tom

Westover, a marketing intelligence consultant at the digital marketing agency,

Number Six Media. He asked me to make a goal for the change I’d like to make, and I

was told to “dream big” with it. Following my grand scheme, he suggested that we

break that idea down into subcategories, or more manageable/accomplishable

tasks. As the saying goes, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

Together, we created the outline for a multimedia campaign.

 Main Objective: Change the political landscape in America by getting leaders

elected who will advocate for the Mexican American community.

 Three subcategories that contribute to my larger goal:

 Get the youth to vote and track the progress of that process.

 Through social and other media, promote news and events happening

in the local Hispanic community.

 Inform youth of voting logistics such as when and where voting will

take place and necessary steps to qualify.

 Provide opportunities (hashtags, check-ins, challenges) within media

to promote youth involvement in the cause.

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 Get community influencers involved in my campaign.

 Offer business sponsorships (by way of Hispanic Chamber of

Commerce)

 Reach out to local politicians (invitation to speak at events or provide

content)

 Request incentives by donations from those involved in business

sponsorships (those incentives that appeal to teens: food, sports)

 Facilitate cultural hybridization

 Hosting events reaching youth of different races by way of equalizing

incentives (food, prizes, sports, etc.) to facilitate voting or support

candidates.

 Share changes being made by those in the Hispanic community to

create a positive view of that culture by itself and others.

In addition to planning the multimedia campaign, we discussed a realistic budget

for such a campaign.

 Budget: provided by business sponsorships (community action programs) and

individual donations.

 Ideal budget, but adjusted to scale of project (starting smaller, working up to

these amounts)

 Social Advertising: $3,000-$4,00 per month

 Events: $6,000 per event (give or take)

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 Email/other: $1,000 per month

 Total: $11,000/month or $132,000/year

With these goals and budget in mind, we created the structure of a “voter’s

journey.” With my multimedia campaign, I need to create awareness, interest,

decision, and action.

 Awareness: Getting the word out. Get followers. Get participants.

 Social media, paid advertisement, videos, content to reach organic users,

email campaign to reach business sponsors and publications.

 Interest: Consideration. The learning stage. Make a change.

 All events: empower Latino Gen Z, promote the possibility of positive

outcomes from a more diverse government, create interracial connections

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and common ground, help Latino Gen Z take necessary logistic steps to

becoming active voters.

 Decision: Voting.

 Action: Advocacy. Turning those voters into spokespeople for the cause. Social

media self perpetuates. Continuation of a more equal, diverse voting trend.

References

tomwestover928@gmail.com