Celebrities are pushing 'jaded and cynical' youth to vote in U.S. midterms

Rihanna, rapper Travis Scott,Blake Livelyand comedian Amy Schumer are among the many celebritiesencouraging their significantsocial media followingsto show up at the polls for theU.S. midterm election onNov. 6.

And to get young people's attention, they'regetting creative.

Schumerenticed fans to click on her list of voting recommendations bysimultaneously announcing her pregnancy.Lively honouredhusband Ryan Reynolds' birthday with a photo of the couple's early voting ballots.

Scott hit the campaign trail in his hometown of Houston with Texas Senate hopeful BetoO'Rourke. YaraShahidi, star ofGrown-ish,launched a project (Eighteen X 18)specifically for the midterms to get her peersmore politically active.

Dozens of others, including Rihanna, have postedpleas for young fansto participate in the voting process.

"I do see a lot of retweets on Twitter from celebrities," saidFurahaNjoroge, 19, a first-time voter and college student in Claremont, Calif. "I feel like a lot of people are like, 'Oh yeah, retweet, retweet.'"

The push to vote in the midterms has become so pervasive thatEllemagazine was forced to apologize last month after posting afake celebrity headlineabout Kim Kardashian and Kanye Westas clickbait. When userstried to open it, they landed ona voter registration page instead.

Hollywood stars, many of whom tendto lean left, are known for campaigning during general electionyears.Butit's rare that the midterms which can changeU.S. Congress, but not the president would garner this much celebrity attention.

But the current administration's positions onhot-button issues such as the Kavanaugh hearings,gun rights, health care,the environment, LGBTrightsandimmigration have led to greater political divisions, and ramped up efforts among many cultural iconsto breaktheRepublican majority in Congress.

Pop star Taylor Swift broke her political silencelast month and surprised her 112 million Instagram followers by endorsing two Democrats running in Tennessee. She's also rewarding early and first-time voters by posting their photos on her account when they tag her with #JustVoted.

"There's no question in the current political climate, a higher turnout among younger people would lead to a heavier vote for the Democrats," said John J. Pitney, a politics professor at California'sClaremontMcKenna College. "Which is why Democrats are focusing on getting younger people registered."

The lowdown on young voters

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 46.1 per cent of people aged 18to 29reported voting in the 2016 presidential election. Compare that to the 70.9 per cent of citizens aged 65 and older who said they voted.

"Most young people see it as, 'Well, why should I vote?'" said self-described millennialJason Abbott, anactiveRepublican, while attending a recent bipartisan conference in Los Angeles called Politicon."Like, 'What's it going to affect me?' Or like, 'Why even waste the time to do it when I'm not going to change anything?'"

Others argue that this demographicoften identifies with more than one ideology or perspective, and most party candidates don't reflect those variations.

"Politics is only a certain aspect of who we are as individuals," said Joshua Choa, part of the youth branch of the Democratic party, who also attendedPoliticon."It's not our whole selves."

Celebrities push for the millennial vote in the U.S. midterms

6 years ago

Duration 2:37

Oprah, Will Ferrell, Alicia Keys: just some of the celebrities who are part of a big push geared towards getting young voters out for the U.S. midterms. Millennials have about as much power at the polls as Boomers, but they are far less likely to actually show up on voting day. Will all these celebrity endorsements be able to change that?

Experts say it's neither apathy nordisillusionmentalone that keeps many young people from engaging. In many states, voters must register before election day to be counted, and must re-register every timethere's a change of address. That can be a hassle for those who move around a lot. Being forced to fill out paper ballotscan also be a deterrentfor a population used to getting things done at the push of a button.

But with millennialspoised tobypass baby boomersasthe largest demographicin the American electorate by 2020 in time for the next presidential electiontheir vote is coveted, even if it remainsunpredictable.

Unfiltered, genuinecandidates is 'really what excites us'

CBC spoke with a number of college students in California some of whomsaid they will be voting for the first time about what willinfluence them the mostto head to the polls for the midterms.

When I see more personalized stories by these celebrities and their reasoning behind voting and their stories, Ithink that influences me more.- Pearl Park, 19, college student and first-time voter

"Young people are jaded and cynical in an unnatural sort of way," said studentSean Burch.

"Really, the only thing that will bring young people out to vote really turn them out in large numbers is candidates who represent the public interest and not special interests, not their big donors. People who are unfiltered and genuine. Because that's really what excites us."

"My friends are helping me getan absentee ballot, since I'm from New York," said neuroscience majorMateoGarcia, 19. "They're really the ones helping me learn my election education."

Accounting student Pearl Park, also 19, said she's influenced by "more personalized stories by these celebrities, and their reasoning behind voting."

She gave theexample of Jimmy Kimmel and amonologue he gave on his late-night talk show last year concerninghealth care for his newborn son,who needed heart surgery.

"[Kimmel] put out a really good message about participating and voting in the next election because of that, and I think that was a really cool way to interact with people and get them to vote."

The limits of celeb influence

Jessica Alba,CharlizeTheron and JuliaLouis-Dreyfusare part of a large Hollywood contingent participating in a final drive for young votes on the eve of the election, with a get-out-the-vote telethonbeing streamed on social media channels. SeveralYouTubestars will also be part of it to capturea younger audience.

Several large-scale campaigns, including Michelle Obama's organization When We All Vote,have been geared toward the millennial demographic and enlisted prominent Democrats such as singer-actor JanelleMonaeandHamiltoncreator Lin-Manuel Mirandato boost registration numbers.

"[Celebrities] have a huge platform to get us in the door, but it really takes that peer-to-peer action to get people moving," said Stephanie Young, communications director for When We All Vote.

Pitney, the ClaremontMcKenna College professor,says stars are most useful at getting attention. Getting voters to the polls, however,requires much more.

"They get younger people to read the message, to watch the video, to listen to the appeal and that's something. That's not minimal," said Pitney. "The celebrities can help at the margins, but they're not the reason why people will show up and vote.

"There's one celebrity who could and probably will make a difference in turning young people out in this election.Andthat celebrity's name is Donald J. Trump."