Here's What Gen Z Voters Care About Most, According To 50K Young People Surveyed

Gen Z is making its priorities clear as young voters prepare to have their voices heard in upcoming elections nationwide.

What are the issues young voters care about the most?

More than 50,000 Gen Zers across all 50 states and Washington, D.C., identified cost of living, immigration, healthcare, racism and reproductive rights as their top issues during When We All Vote’s Pass the Mic to Gen Z listening tour, according to a news release.

When We All Vote, a national, nonpartisan initiative of Civic Nation, released the findings Sept. 14 as it kicked off National Voter Registration Week of Action, connecting young voters with the issues they care about and what will appear on their ballots this fall.

Cost of living and inflation ranked as the top issue among Gen Z overall, consistent with When We All Vote’s national research released in April in partnership with CIRCLE.

But the listening tour also highlighted differences in what young people are prioritizing across racial groups. Black Gen Zers named racism as their top issue, while Latino Gen Zers identified immigration as their top concern.

What is When We All Vote’s ‘Pass the Mic to Gen Z’ listening tour?

“This summer, we heard directly from more than 50,000 young voters about the economy, cost of living and the other issues impacting their lives most,” Kalisha Dessources Figures, senior advisor at When We All Vote, said in a news release statement.

“Gen Z took the mic, and now, we’re taking the momentum from this summer’s listening tour into National Voter Registration Week of Action to remind the 50 million eligible young voters that the issues they care about most are on the ballot,” she added.

Pass the Mic to Gen Z launched in April as a long-term effort to hear directly from young people and use those conversations to shape civic engagement and voter education. The listening tour reached young people through campus pop-ups at North Carolina A&T University and the University of Houston, sporting events including NBA Summer League and Fanatics Fest, Teen Vogue Fest, digital campaigns and other partner events.

The organization said the feedback gathered this year will help shape its programming in 2027.

Several media outlets, brands, fraternities and organizations are rallying behind the cause

Now, When We All Vote is taking those conversations into its voter registration efforts, partnering with media companies, brands and community organizations throughout National Voter Registration Week of Action.

The organization is working with media partners including FEMINIST, Baller Alert and Blavity’s AfroTech, while brands such as Clare V. and The Ordinary are participating in voter registration efforts. Community events are also planned with Count US IN, along with voter registration drives involving organizations including the Gamma Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, Inc., per the news release.

When We All Vote will also celebrate National Black Voter Day with BET on Sept. 18.

The voter registration push comes as debates over voting access continue across the country, including fights over early voting locations, mail-in ballot access and redistricting.

For When We All Vote, the goal is to turn what young people said they care about into action at the ballot box.

“Even if it doesn’t always feel like it, our votes and our voices do have power,” Dessources Figures said. “And the next step to using it is getting our communities registered and ready to vote.”