Midterms, Top Stories

Young Voters Could Make History On Election Day

By News & Guts
Welcome

A week from now when political analysts breakdown who won the midterms and why, expect to hear a lot about millennials. Young people have the power to sway this election as Teen Vogue reports:

The 2018 midterms are November 6, and this election may be in the hands of youth voters. With the Pew Research Center finding there is roughly the same amount of eligible voters 35 and under as there are Baby Boomers, young people may have the opportunity to become the most influential demographic in the upcoming election.

Early indications show young people may turn out in numbers we haven’t seen before. Harvard Institute of Politics Youth Poll did their biannual poll of 18 to 29 year-olds and found:

Young Americans are significantly more likely to vote in the upcoming midterm elections compared to 2010 and 2014. Overall, 40 percent report that they will “definitely vote” in the midterms, with 54 percent of Democrats, 43 percent of Republicans and 24 percent of Independents considered likely voters. As young Republicans have become more engaged, the preference among likely voters for Democrats to control Congress has decreased from a 41-point advantage in the IOP April 2018 poll to a 34-point lead today (66%-32%).”

President Trump’s job approval among young Americans stands at 26 percent…

CNN adds:
Strong turnout within that age group could tip some of the closer House races into the Democratic column.
There’s “an embarrassment that comes with having not voted, or having not cared about voting in the past,” said Jessica Cohen, a 30-year-old product manager for a software company in California.
“(People) are realizing how many consequences there have been since 2016,” she added.
“That apathy has gotten us into some serious trouble.”

Historically most young people have skipped voting in the midterm elections. In a new video, narrated by Barack Obama, the former President points out in only 1 in 5 young people voted in the last midterm election in 2014.

There is already concrete evidence though younger people are turning out in higher numbers, especially in particular states.

Democrats have made a big push for the young vote. It’s a demographic the Republicans seem to have been ignoring.