Welcome to Talking Feds.

A round table that brings together prominent former federal officials and special guests

for a dynamic discussion of the most important political and legal topics of the day.

I'm Harry Littman.

Today the emphasis is on the special guests because we have a very different and special

sort of episode.

Moving into the election there is always the quadrennial discussion of younger voters,

what moves them, why are there voting percentages low, even dramatically lower than in comparable

countries like Germany or Canada.

What could change that?

In 2020 this discussion means engaging hopefully with a new generation of the 2020 electorate

that has been dubbed Generation Z. They're about 24 million Americans born after 1996

who will have their first opportunity to cast a ballot in November.

That is one in 10 eligible voters in the US electorate.

Their turn arrives and they stand poised to displace millennials, those born 1981 to 1996

in the public consciousness as the country's future.

So we're really pleased to be sitting down today with four young voters who are leaders

among their peers but also phenomenally accomplished in their own rights in different fields.

To ask them about the issues that matter most to them and hear their perspective on this pivotal

election. I'm actually going to start by saying hi to everyone but asking you to introduce yourself

by just giving us your name if you don't mind your age, where you grew up and your area of strongest

interest or passion. I'm Ziyad Ahmed. I'm 21 years old. I'm from Princeton, New Jersey.

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