This is republished as part of a series in collaboration with the Headway Election Challenge. Chalkbeat and Headway at The New York Times will ask young people to share their insights and perspectives throughout the 2024 presidential election.
In 2023, Ankita Jaikumar wasn’t very politically active. “It’s crazy that last year I didn’t know any candidates,” the 16-year-old high school senior said. “I didn’t know who represented me. I didn’t know what was going on.”
Then things started to change. Her dad, a dedicated news watcher, often had CNN and Fox News on in the background. At first, she found it boring, but eventually, she started paying attention. She became more engaged in political conversations, especially around issues that mattered to her, like those affecting the Asian American and Pacific Islander community.
Less than six months ago, she organized an event.
“Around April, I hosted my first-ever poetry open mic,” she said. “That was the first time I organized something myself and did outreach to different people.”
It was the first time, she said, that she felt like she had created something bigger than her.
Now, less than two months before an election she can’t even vote in, Ms. Jaikumar is as plugged in as anyone. She’s volunteering for campaigns, involved in school groups and representing Atlanta as a 2024-2025 Youth Poet Laureate ambassador.
We heard from Ms. Jaikumar as part of our Headway Election Challenge, a collaboration between Headway and Chalkbeat to understand how teens relate to the November election — whether they’re voting for the first time or not.
Who we heard from
In the first week of the challenge, and in collaboration with Chalkbeat, we asked two related questions: How much do teenagers care about the election? and How much do you think the presidential election will affect you and your family’s life?
More than 200 teenagers from 39 states responded. We heard from 14-year-olds who follow every headline, and 19-year-olds who said they weren’t inclined to vote, despite being eligible to do so.
This is why we started the challenge with this theme: to understand the disconnect between teenagers who feel the stakes are high and those who don’t consider the election worth their while, even though they can vote.
Here’s how the responses broke down:
Teenagers paying attention
Among the teens paying at least some attention, about three-quarters said the election would have a moderate to significant effect on their lives and families. These teens highlighted issues like the economy, health care, immigration policies and rights related to race, gender and L.G.B.T.Q. identity.
Despite the fact that more than half of those we heard from won’t be 18 years old on Election Day, many of these teenagers are still invested in the election and its outcome. They’re driven to pay attention because of the effect they think the election result will have on them and their families. Some, like Ms. Jaikumar, are making their voices heard in ways other than voting.
Teenagers paying little attention
Among those who are tuning out the election, only about a fifth believe the election would significantly affect their families. Most of these respondents were not eligible to vote, which was not surprising. There’s a reason election-obsessed 14-year-olds are not the stereotype.
A small number of teenagers who will be 18 or 19 on Nov. 5 told us they weren’t paying attention. A few of these respondents indicated they were planning to vote anyway. Others said they weren’t because they didn’t care, were indifferent, or didn’t see much of a difference between their ballot options.
Exploring the disconnect teens feel about the presidential election
As we move forward with the challenge, we will continue to explore this disconnect and the reasons behind it, in the words of the teenagers who participate. We’re especially interested in how teenagers who are invested in the election relate to their less-engaged peers.
Ashley Han, a 16-year-old junior at Skyline High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, sits somewhere in the middle of these two groups. She’s not a politics nerd, but she’s far from indifferent. As editor-in-chief of her school newspaper, she follows the news regularly and helps to inform her peers, a role she takes seriously.
“I don’t even think it matters what your political opinion is, but I think it’s so important that young people know what’s going on,” Ms. Han said. “Because I feel like politics really does affect every single part of your life.”
That brings us to this week’s challenge
How do young people know what’s going on? How do they find information they trust? And how do they discuss it with others? Take our survey here to tell us how you inform yourself and others about the election.
Did you miss last week? Not sure where to start? Go back to the start of the challenge here.
