![]() He says the issues most important to these young voters are "defeating the coronavirus, jobs and the economy and climate change."īut he adds that what makes this generation unique, is how they approach issues as interconnected. What makes Gen Z uniqueīill McClain, research director for Clean and Prosperous America has spent significant time analyzing the political attitudes of Gen Z voters. So for this particular demographic, that was hugely important," says Cohen. "Upwards of three-quarters of young people, regardless of party affiliation, supported Black Lives Matter protests. The Black Lives Matter movement has been credited for inspiring vast numbers of young Democratic voters to register. In early June, millions of protesters took to the streets to speak out against the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota.ĭuring the first half of that month, 1.1 million Americans registered to vote - a majority of them Democrats. "And this is reflected in the fact that more than 80% of young people supported the racial justice movement that happened earlier this year." "But we also know that racial justice and systemic racism was a top, top issue for young people," he adds. I mean, kids getting killed in schools, now that's a motivator."Ĭohen says young voters' biggest concerns were the public health and economic implications of the coronavirus pandemic. "And it was the gun violence movement that came out of Parkland that I think also brought a lot of young people. It was the protests that we saw this spring and summer which really turned huge numbers of young people into political activism for the first time," lists Rosenberg. It was climate change, which is a major issue for young people. It was the economic and physical dislocation of Covid. Rosenberg says this year's historic turnout of young voters was caused by "a perfect storm" of motivating factors But as Gen Z enters the political arena, such suggestions seem increasingly plausible.ĬNBC Make It spoke with political analysts and most importantly, Gen Z voters, to learn how young people made their mark on the 2020 election - and how they might impact elections ahead. ![]() Not long ago, the suggestion of Texas going blue would have seemed implausible. "Especially when turning Texas blue is within our grasp." "I think that it's a privilege to vote in a deep red state like this," he says. He volunteers with Young Invincibles, a young adult research & advocacy group and hopes to run for office one day. "I think that this election was a referendum on the last four years," says Nickoli Benkert, a 19-year-old sophomore studying political communications at the University of Texas at Austin.īenkert is also a first-time voter and like the majority of his cohort, he voted for Biden. Having grown up in Texas, Benkert has excitedly watched his home state turn from staunchly red, to ambiguously purple. ![]() They were voting more against Donald Trump than they were for Joe Biden." "A number of things appeared to be driving young people's level of participation and level of excitement about the campaign and it wasn't Joe Biden, though they certainly like Joe Biden overall. "Gen Z voters were very enthusiastic about this election," says Karlyn Bowman, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. "The preliminary data says, in fact, this was the election with the highest turnout rate of young people that we've ever seen." "Both Generation Z and millennials are voting generations," says Brent Cohen, executive director of Generation Progress. ![]() That may be the highest ever recorded in the modern era of politics." "53% to 55% of registered 18 to 29-year-olds appear to have voted. "I've been doing demographic analysis about the changing American electorate for two decades," says Simon Rosenberg, president of NDN (previously known as the New Democrat Network ) and the New Policy Institute. NBC exit polls suggest that 65% of those between the ages of 18 and 24 voted for Biden - 11% more than any other age group.Īnd in states like Georgia and Pennsylvania, young voters proved to be key to Biden's success. Generation Z, who are currently between the ages of 8 and 23, played a significant role in both of these records.
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