Youth Voting Trends Vary by Race

Voters under 30 are a keenly watched voting bloc in the United States, with race being a top issue for many young people.  “There are huge differences in who young people support, candidate-wise, by race and gender,” Abby Kiesa, director of impact at the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) based at Tufts University, told VOA. “For example, for a huge portion of young people of color, we are much more likely to see use of color, especially young Black and Latino young people, vote for Democratic candidates. However, when we look at white youth, we don’t see as strong support.” FILE – New voters, including many University of New Hampshire students, stand in line to fill out voter registration forms in Durham, New Hampshire, Nov. 6, 2018.In addition to millennials and Generation Z being 37% of the electorate, according to Marvi Ali and her sister Zara exiting their high school in Wilmington, Delaware. (E. Sarai/VOA)According to data from CIRCLE, young racial and ethnic minorities are more likely than their white counterparts to have advocated for a policy or participated in a demonstration. “Youth of color are much more likely to have advocated for a policy than white youth — 41% versus 34%. Overall, 28% of young people in that age group say they have participated in a march or demonstration, but 37% of youth of color have done so, compared to just 22% of white youth,” Kiesa told VOA via email. Whether these levels of civic engagement will translate to voter turnout will be seen in November. Kathleen Struck contributed to this report.

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