This year marks the first time my 19-year-old will be able to cast a vote for president. 

Like most of Gen Z, they’re chronically online, which means their preparations for Election Day have been largely spent online too. 

They placed their request that an absentee ballot be sent to them via the Sullivan County Board of Elections’ online platform. 

They’ve read up on state ballot measures on the New York State Board of Elections website. 

And they’ve been investigating candidates the same way. 

It was thanks to their deep dive into voting prep that I learned about the ballot measures that I hadn’t yet had time to investigate and how I learned about various candidates’ stance on immigration. 

It’s also how I learned that one candidate for public office has a campaign website that’s completely devoid of a platform. There isn’t a single mention of their goals, principles or promises. 

Building out websites and social media may not feel obvious to politicians born at a time when computers still took up entire rooms, but not doing so means ignoring an entire generation of voters, a generation that represents our future. 

Gen Z is the most racially and ethnically diverse generation in our nation’s history. Research shows they’re also less likely to have strong political affiliations and are making both political parties more diverse in composition than ever.

In other words, they are reachable — no matter your party — if you bother to try. 

Trying means going where they are. 

Going there won’t just reach this growing sector of the population either. 

A 2023 McKinsey report found more than 75 percent of respondents in all age groups (Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z) say they use and check social media sites at least 10 minutes a day.

We’re all online. 

Online is where I read up on the New York State ballot measures after they were mentioned by my teenager.

It’s where I access video chats with my teenager who is four hours from home schooling me on the upcoming vote. 

It’s where they are busy researching the important issues necessary to be an informed voter. 

If we want our kids to be engaged voters, we have to engage with them. 

Where can you do that? I’ll give you a hint ... it’s not at the local pancake breakfast.