YOUTH VOTER TURNOUT: HOW WE IMPACTED THE ELECTION

NOVEMBER 17, 2020

By: SANA MAMTANEY

Young people have always been the driving force in making change. Many of the most important movements in American history would not have been possible without the action of young people. The Civil Rights Movement, Vietnam War protests, the fight against gun violence, and many other movements have been fueled by the youth. Despite the youth’s action throughout history, the voter turnout of ages 18-29 is notoriously always the lowest. But this year, we turned out in record numbers.

A study from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tufts University measured youth voter turnout this year was at 53 percent, increasing by 8 percent from the 2016 election. This may have been the highest youth voter turnout in over 100 years, and the youth voted overwhelmingly for Biden. To young people, Biden is the candidate and the president who will make change. Many young voters claim they “settled” for Biden, whether they typically lean more left or right of his views, but felt that he was the better candidate in comparison to Trump.

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