The Power of the Youth Vote
October 2020 | Abraham Lugo, Staff Writer/Editor
At the cusp of a historic presidential election, the push for voter turnout across the U.S. holds clear prominence as the looming decision approaches. Yet one factor could make all the difference: the youth vote. Young people, ages ranging from 18 to 24 years old, have made a consistent decline in voting rates in the past. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, young adult voting rates dropped to as low as 32.4% in the 1996 presidential election. To put it into perspective, voter turnout just two years ago in 2018 was at a high 66.1% for voters aged 65 and up.[1] So how is this election, and all elections both local and federal, going to play out any different from here on out?
Between 2014 and 2018, encompassing the previous presidential election, voter turnout saw the highest percentage increase in any age group from young adult voters, totaling to a 79% increase. A definitive shift in demographics for young voters is set to be on the rise as Generation Z begins to make their way into voting eligibility. The Pew Research center has identified anyone born from 1997 and after as part of the new generation, Generation Z, while anyone born from 1981 to 1996 is considered a Millennial.[2] Moreover, the most significant difference between the two generations can be seen in a Pew Research analysis, showing Generation Z dominating in the number of online searches for information on the post-millennial generation. Generation Z voters are the first generation to live with smartphone technology and unlimited internet accessibility since before even being of legal age.[3] Because of this, a shift in political involvement and issue focal points is not only expected, but it is already underway.
The most prominent issues for young voters center on climate change, gun reform, immigration, police reform, and student loan debt. These have all been results of young voters witnessing more than most generations typically would as youths, which includes but is not limited to double economic crashes, a global social-justice movement for racial equality, a worldwide pandemic, record-beating unemployment rates, a drastic increase in gun-violence statistics, a surge of political division, and a chain of ongoing natural disasters. Thus, a new era of involvement is inevitable as a result of these hardships. A 2020 Harvard poll stated that “young voter enthusiasm and the likelihood of turning out are very high. 63% of respondents indicated they will ‘definitely be voting,’ compared to 47% during this same time in 2016.”[4]
So the question is, why have young people previously struggled to turn out when the time for voting arrives? The common consensus, on both sides of the political party spectrum, is simple: young people are waiting for representatives to use their platforms for giving importance in appealing toward the issues of the youth. This trend has shown just how significant of a factor true representation to all identities of voters is, rather than the repeated political appeal to older generations simply for their consistent vote. Dr. Kawashima-Ginsberg, a psychology professor from the University of Chicago, speaking on why young people don’t vote told the New York Times that, “when young people feel like their vote doesn’t matter, they don’t vote.”[5]
The youth vote has been on the verge of becoming an influential driving force towards the outcomes of elections for the past few years. Even so, the numbers show only an exponential increase of interest, while a historic presidential election is just months away. After a record-breaking turnout from youth in the 2018 midterm elections, the time for young voters to show up and show out is now. With such a wide shift in ideologies for the future of the U.S. and democracy itself within this age gap, a drastic increase in youth voter turnout could very easily alter the results of the entire election. The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) shared with VOA (Voice of America) news that “young people can decide elections, and their participation is central to our politics. Expanding the electorate and addressing inequities in youth voting is a crucial task for strengthening democracy.”[6]
As the future leaders and inhabitants of the U.S. government, it is the responsibility of young people to vote. Luckily for them, the numbers and data all fall into place on their side. All that is needed of them now is to find the inspiration towards starting the change they desperately want to see in representation and ultimately shift into representing themselves. Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India wisely said, “it is important how we view the youth of our nation. To simply consider them as new age voters will be a big mistake. They are the new age power.”[7]
Sources
Thom File. Young Adult Voting: An Analysis of Presidential Elections 1964-2012. (Suitland: U.S. Census Bureau, 2014), 1.
Michael Dimock, Defining Generations: Where Millennials End and Generation Z Begins. (Washington D.C.: Pew Research Center, 2019), 2.
Ibid, 2.
Mark Gearan, Harvard Youth Poll, Election 2020. (Cambridge: Harvard Institute of Politics, 2020), 2.
Sydney Ember, Young Voters Could Make a Difference. Will They? (New York City: The New York Times, 2018), 3.
Kathleen Struck, Plenty of Signs Surging Youth Will Play Major Role in 2020 US Election. (Washington: Voice of America, 2020), 3.
Chanchal Chauhan, Three Years of Narendra Modi’s Government: 34 Quotes of the Prime Minister. India.Com. May 26, 2017.