As Election Day approaches, some households are realizing that the best way to deal with political differences is with humor.
On TikTok, dozens of users post ironic videos about how their vote “Cancel“Someone else is on the opposite side of the political spectrum – including their parents, friends and partners.
The videos, some of which have racked up hundreds of thousands of views, typically show members of a family or household — such as a husband and wife, boyfriend and girlfriend, or roommates — walking together to vote.
The trend, which became prominent on
Even though the votes don’t actually cancel each other out, the trend has become a way for some to avoid arguments and make light of what is supposed to be an issue. very close presidential race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
A recent NBC News Stay tuned Gen Z poll conducted by SurveyMonkey found that Harris has a significant lead among young registered voters, but a yawning gender gap divides Gen Z. Six in 10 Gen Z voters who said they plan to vote for Harris said that if a friend were considering voting for Trump, they would. put a strain on their relationship, according to the survey. About a quarter of those considering voting for Trump said their friendship would be strained if a friend considered voting for Harris.
“It’s a trend I did as a joke, but it’s like taking a step back and realizing that people can coexist even though politics these days can also divide people,” said Mackenzie Owens, 19 , Who job about “canceling” her boyfriend’s vote.
Owens, who is voting in Pennsylvania for the first time, declined to say who she was voting for. But she said she and her boyfriend of two years were able to respectfully discuss their different political views.
Some participants in the trend said it was a fun way to ease tensions ahead of a stressful election.
Becca Puga, who job on the need to overturn her father’s vote in Utah, said she wouldn’t mind if her father saw the video because he wouldn’t be offended by her joke.
“Although they are very conservative, very Christian, they raised me to have my own thoughts and values, and they give me the space to do that,” Puga, 28, said of his parents. “So when I posted that, I wasn’t afraid that anyone in my family would see it, because my dad would think it’s funny.”
Others said the trend was a way to celebrate their shared political values with loved ones.
“It was no surprise to me that my husband voted for Harris and Walz. He and I have aligned political views, and he’s just a card-carrying feminist,” said Robin Nickell, 49, who lives in Bradenton, Florida, and posted a message. video on TikTok. “It was kind of a message of appreciation to my husband.”
Morgan Provenzano, 35 years old, job about how she felt lucky not to have to overturn her father’s vote in Virginia.
“He has been a pastor for 30 years. He’s a baby boomer. He’s 76 years old, and for all intents and purposes, on paper, that might lead you to think he would vote a certain way,” said Provenzano, who said she was voting for Harris. “And so I’m even more grateful that we’re aligning with what’s going on.”
CORRECTION (October 28, 2024, 10:55 a.m. ET): A previous version of this article misspelled the first name of a new Pennsylvania voter. She’s Mackenzie Owens, not McKenzie.
