A Younger Electorate?

One of the fundamental shifts that is likely to happen in this and future elections is the impact of younger and diverse voters.

 

This group which is traditionally more liberal if not radical has always had strong opinions but a poor voting record.  I don't want to speculate on the reason but movements that have depended on young voters have traditionally been let down by the turnout.

 

Just this primary season the Bernie Sanders campaign put a lot of eggs in that basket and it didn't work out.

 

So why is this likely to change?

 

Maybe it won't, but the signs are there that it is more likely than not.

 

The recent events such as the virus response and the protests over racial injustice have had an impact. Still will they show up to vote?

 

That's possibly the most significant change, they might not have to.  The actual process of voting may have been a part of the problem.  Many young people are likely to think "my vote isn't going to make a difference, I'll go have fun instead".  Is that accurate?  Maybe not but voting is inconvenient and since they traditionally haven't shown up, it might be as good a reason as any.

 

Make voting more convenient and they are so much more likely to do it, as are the rest of us for that matter.  This year with the virus we see a lot of primaries that surprise.  Certainly not all of them but the number of votes cast by mail and the results have tended to reflect a younger viewpoint.

 

Its one of the reasons we have a political party so opposed to voting by mail and making it easier.

 

They claim to be worried about fraudulent votes, what they are really afraid of is young vote.