“Americans of all races joining together to declare in the face of injustice and brutality at the hands of the state that black lives matter no more but no less. So that no child in this country feels the continuing sting of racism. To the young people who led us this summer, telling us we need to be better, in so many ways, you are this country's dreams fulfilled. Earlier generations had to be persuaded that everyone has equal worth.
“For you it's a given, a conviction. And what I want you to know is that for all its messiness and frustrations, your system of self-government can be harnessed to help you realize those convictions for all of us. You can give our democracy new meaning. You can take it to a better place.
“You're the missing ingredient, the ones who will decide whether or not America becomes the country that fully lives up to its creed. That work will continue long after this election. But any chance of success depends entirely
on the outcome of this election. This administration has shown it will tear our democracy down if that's what it takes for them to win.”
“To the young people who led us this summer” – in his convention address, President Obama extolled the conviction of the youth of America while providing them a vision and a pathway to a better system of self-government. Obama said they are the “missing ingredient” to the outcome of the 2020 election and to realize this country's “dreams fulfilled,” they must vote out Trump in 2020.
The Strength of Youth
There are plenty of signs that young Americans could play a major role in the 2020 election, helping to determine the outcome of the race. Their record turnout in the 2018 midterm elections, signs of political activism, and a handful of issues being used as a rallying cry, including soaring college debt, health care, and climate change, stand as evidence.
“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.”
--Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tufts University in Massachusetts
Millennial voting nearly doubled between 2014 and 2018 – from 22% to 42% – according to demographer Richard Fry at the Pew Research Center in Washington. Thirty percent of Gen Zers eligible to vote turned out in the first midterm elections of their lives. And for the first time in a midterm election, more than half of Gen Xers reported they had voted, Pew reported.
Abby Kiesa, CIRCLE’s director of impact, said …
“This 2020 election cycle is particularly interesting because, for the first time in almost over 25 years, we’re moving from a midterm election where young people’s participation dramatically increased. Now there are 47 million 18- to 29-year-olds who are eligible to vote in the 2020 election, and 15 million of them have turned 18 since the last presidential election.”
(Kathleen Struck. “Plenty of Signs Surging Youth Vote Will Play Major Role in 2020 US Election . https://www.voanews.com/student-union/plenty-signs-surging-youth-vote-will-play-major-role-2020-us-election Voice of America. June 22, 2020.)
In the 2018 midterm elections, two-thirds of all young voters age 18-29 supported the Democratic candidate for Congress. That’s the widest party gap in the past 25 years, CIRCLE said.
Jesse Barba, senior director of external affairs at Young Invincibles, a youth voting and political advocacy group “to expand economic opportunity for our generation,” contends that the 2020 election will happen amid a huge demographic shift.
The shift? The U.S. population is poised to move from majority white to majority minority, or mostly non-white voters, by 2045, according to Brookings Institution.
Barba said …
“This would be the first time in history where nonwhite people make up the largest electorate. I think for so long people have been talked down to rather than included and talked with, so … any candidate who wanted to motivate and mobilize young people should have tried to speak about four or five key things.”
(Kathleen Struck. “Plenty of Signs Surging Youth Vote Will Play Major Role in 2020 US Election . Voice of America. June 22, 2020.)
Those key issues include college debt, affordable health care, expanding voter rights, gun violence, immigration, climate change and economy, Barba said.
Barba continued: “I think the public health crisis has now put two issues top-of-mind squarely for young people, and that’s economy and mental health.” A CIRCLE poll of youth reported 79% say that the pandemic has helped them realize that political leaders’ decisions matter.
“You can tweet about it. You can hashtag about it. You can be upset about it and share the video. But until we start going and taking political power, not much will change.”
– Markus Tarjamo, a student and Democratic National Convention delegate candidate from suburban Washington
A CIRCLE survey of young people showed these “top findings”…
- Seizing their Power: 83% say they believe young people have the power to change the country, 60% feel like they’re part of a movement that will vote to express its views, and 79% of young people say the COVID-19 pandemic has helped them realize that politics impact their everyday lives.
- Strong Preference for Biden Over Trump: 58% of youth say they support Joe Biden, compared to just 24% for President Trump—a staggering 34-point margin. But 18% of youth say they would like to vote for another candidate. Asian youth (78%) and Black youth (73%) are the most likely to support Biden. Meanwhile, almost three quarters of youth who support Trump (72%) are White.
- Campaign Contact Still a Concern: Almost half of youth (47%) say they have been contacted by a political campaign this year. However, that’s still an improvement from 2016, when only 32% of youth (ages 18-29) had heard from a campaign.
- Youth in the Streets: 27% of young people (ages 18-24) say they have attended a march or demonstration, a remarkable increase from when we asked the question for the same age group before the 2016 and 2018 elections (5% and 16%, respectively).
- Information and Guidance on OVR and VBM Needed: We asked youth if they could register to vote online in their state. A third (32%) said they did not know. Among those who answered yes or no, 25% were incorrect. In addition, only 24% of youth report having voted by mail before.
- Top Issues Differ, Racism High Priority for Youth of Color: The environment, racism, and affordable healthcare are the top-3 issues most commonly named by youth as the most important in driving their vote this November. Getting back to normal after the pandemic and police mistreatment also ranked highly.
(“Poll: Young People Believe they Can Lead Change in Unprecedented Election Cycle.” Center For Information and Research On Civic Learning and Engagement. June 30, 2020.)
Polls conclude if youth participation is hindered in this election, it would do more to harm Democrat Joe Biden than Republican Donald Trump in states where youth have voted more Democratic than the state overall, as more than twice as many young people indicate a preference for Biden as do so for Trump. The margins are even larger for Black and Asian youth.
(Abby Kiesa. “Lack of Voting Information Could Hamper Youth Turnout.”
Gallup. July 14, 2020.)
However this data is interpreted, the mere fact that this many young voters are engaging in the democratic process is a sign of future strength compared with the current national political frailty. President Obama is right – young Americans will inherit this country and its experiment in self-governance. And, right now, they are the missing ingredient to making a better, more democratic America.
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