Hollywood Star Marsai Martin Has a Midterm Elections Message for Gen Z Voters: ‘Participating Is Contagious’

Hollywood Star Marsai Martin Is Betting on Gen Z Voters to Turn Out for Midterm Elections, But Will They Answer the Call?

With less than 100 days until the November midterm elections, actress and businesswoman Marsai Martin isn’t just asking young people to vote. She’s asking them to believe that voting is still worth it.

The 21-year-old actor and producer announced she’s stepping into a bigger leadership role as co-chair of When We All Vote, the nonpartisan voting organization founded by Michelle Obama. Her decision comes with the 2026 midterm elections less than 100 days away–and at a moment when many young Americans are exhausted by politics, rising costs, immigration raids, attacks on reproductive rights and the feeling that their voices simply don’t matter.

Martin doesn’t ignore that fatigue. She centers it.

“Our generation is constantly told we’re the future. But the truth is, our future is happening right now,” she wrote in Teen Vogue. “We’re navigating rising costs, worrying about ICE in our neighborhoods, thinking about reproductive healthcare, climate change, and the kinds of communities we want to live in. These aren’t hypothetical conversations anymore. We’re full-on adulting now.”

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Martin joins a long list of celebrities urging Americans to use their voting power… But for young folks, her message feels different from the typical celebrity “go vote” PSA.

She’s not pretending young people have unlimited time or emotional bandwidth. The “Black-ish” actress acknowledges Gen Z is carrying an enormous load–and arguing that’s exactly why they can’t afford to tune out.

“The good news? We can do more than post about it, we can vote about it,” she wrote.

It’s a timely message. Nearly 50 million Gen Z voters will be eligible to cast ballots in 2026, making them one of the country’s largest voting blocs, according to Reuters. Martin reminds readers of that fact, writing, “Gen Z voters are nearly 50 million strong.” If that many young people voted consistently, they could reshape local, state and national elections.

The problem is they don’t always.

Young voter turnout has climbed dramatically over the past decade, reaching historic highs during the 2018 and 2020 elections, according to data from Tufts College. But participation remains inconsistent, especially in midterm elections, where younger voters have traditionally shown up at much lower rates than older generations. That’s why organizations like When We All Vote have shifted from simply encouraging registration to building peer-to-peer organizing and turnout efforts.

Martin understands that influence is social.

“My first vote taught me something I didn’t expect: participating is contagious,” she said. “When one person makes it feel normal and important, the people around them are more likely to get involved too.”

Instead of telling followers to admire her activism, she’s asking them to text their friends, create “voting squads,” offer rides to the polls and remind each other about deadlines.

That’s a more practical–and arguably more effective–approach than another celebrity endorsement.

Whether young people will listen is another matter.

Political burnout is real. Many Gen Z voters have grown up through a pandemic, economic uncertainty, school shootings, climate disasters and relentless political polarization. Trust in institutions is low. Social media rewards outrage more than civic participation. Voting can feel insignificant when the problems feel enormous.

Martin pushes back against that mindset.

“I’ve realized that change doesn’t just happen because we care about something but it happens when we all participate,” she said.

Martin is also making an argument that relatively few young entertainers are making right now. Plenty of celebrities weigh in on headlines or endorse candidates. Fewer are investing sustained time in voter engagement itself–especially among their own generation.

That doesn’t mean Martin alone will spark a surge in youth turnout. No celebrity has that kind of power.

But she is offering something increasingly rare: a call to civic participation that doesn’t shame young people for feeling overwhelmed. Instead, it tells them their exhaustion isn’t an excuse to surrender their power.

Her closing message is simple: “Friends don’t let friends sit out elections.”

The question isn’t whether Marsai Martin will show up. It’s whether enough of Gen Z will show up with her.