Young and Ready to Vote: The 20-Something Voters on Both Sides of Trump's Mich. Rally

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. – President Trump and Vice President Pence attended a campaign rally held at the Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek, Michigan. Across town, protesters marched from Monument Park to Friendship Park, near the rally site Wednesday afternoon.

According to a study published the Pew Research Center earlier this year, one-in-ten of eligible 2020 election voters belong to edge of Generation Z (voters aged 18-23). Meet the voters in or near the age bracket from both sides of the aisle and their thoughts ahead of the 2020 election.

Paul Baker and Brett Talley, both 26, were in line to enter the arena property. Voter fraud was one of the biggest risks of the election with economic growth also being a concern, Baker said.

“The economy is going good, really. Work is my main thing,” he said.

Baker agreed that democrats have been too focused on impeachment, something house republicans have been saying during debates over impeachment. But Baker said he was happy that the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement, the USMCA, was recently passed by Congress. Talley said the full reversal of Trump Administration policies was at risk.

“Undoing of all the recent things of all the things done in the last four years,” he said.

Both said that one of the biggest challenges for young voters is not able to find an unbiased news source.

Further in the line was Sabrina VanKirk, 23, from Freeland, Michigan. The risk of the 2020 election was further division caused by the impeachment debate and its media coverage, she said. Health care and economic growth were two other concerns, VanKirk said.  

“I’m worried about rising cost of health care and I want to be able to have the opportunity for jobs and I know Trump will help keep us employed,” the Saginaw Valley State University student said.

One of the biggest challenges for young voters is being uninformed because of busy school schedules and lack of news viewership, VanKirk said.

Several blocks from the rally, Allison Mitchell, 20, stood with protesters on the corner of Division and Main Street. A political science student at Hope College, the biggest wide-reaching risk of the election and personal concern is climate change, Mitchell said. With impeachment debate underway, President Trump being voted out was a better option, Mitchell said.

“Rather see voted out. I think we have enough momentum for 2020 to make a change and make it good,” the Kalamazoo native said.

The challenge for young voters is education on the issues, Mitchell said.

Owen Carow, 23, was another protester. Climate change is a major risk with health care hitting close to home.

“My mom is a nurse, she works in an emergency room. Kind of seen how the emergency room system is a emergency valve for our failed health care policy. So, I would like to see a single payer system,” Carow said. The Western Michigan University student said that impeachment would be a better option to remove Trump from office.

The newest voter was Toria Klungle, 18. The biggest risk of the election is climate change with Women’s rights and LGBTQ rights also being concerns, said Klungle.

“My biggest concern is still the environment because it will affect everyone,” she said.

Voting Trump out of office would be a better option that impeachment since the next election is coming up, the Rockford, IL native said.

The protesters held a rally after marching to Friendship Park while Trump supports were turned away from the venue after reaching capacity. The U.S. House of Representatives voted impeached President Trump while he spoke at the rally Wednesday night.