In the 24 hours after the presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump nearly 406,000 people visited vote.gov, because of Taylor Swift endorsement for the Democratic vice president. Normally, that number is around 30,000 per day.
As the 2024 presidential race for the White House is considered to be the closest in the last 60 years, some may wonder how Swift’s post on Instagram has changed the election campaign among the youth. As a matter of fact, they are usually the most disaffected part of the electorate.
“I’m not going to vote, I don’t care about politics,” said a 25-year-old waitress we met in Wisconsin, one of the swing states. “I am a Swiftie, but it doesn’t make any difference to me. I never voted in my life and I will continue to do so.”
Historically, younger voters don’t vote as much as older voters do. The national youth turnout (ages 18-29) in the 2020 presidential election was 50%, 11 points higher than in 2016 (39%), which was a historical record for the highest general turnout in 40 years. But still too low. A June Marist survey predicts about 67% of registered Generation Zers (18- to 27-year-olds) and Millennials (28- to 41 year olds) combined are expected to vote this November. That’s compared with 94% of Baby Boomers.
At S. Thomas University in St. Paul, the largest private university in Minnesota, we met an 18-year-old student. The 2024 election would be his first ballot, but he has no intention to voting. There is too much “drama” in the presidential race, he said.
His friend agree: “We’re not interested in the issue, because we don’t think that our vote matters, since we don’t directly elect the president”, said.
A 19-year-old student said: “I don’t care. I don’t think the presidential election will change my life.”
One student, a woman, said she watched the Harris-Trump debate. “I think it counts a lot for the presidential race because it changed people’s mind,” she said, without revealing who she will vote for.
With almost one month to go before the election, the latest analysis from CIRCLE about youth voter registration in 34 states shows that most of them have fewer young people registered to vote as of September 3, 2024, than they did in November 2020.
The % change in the number of youth (ages 18-29) registered to vote in each state according to data as of September 3, 2024, compared to the number registered on Election Day 2020 (Circle)
Two swing states are among those states with the highest registration rate: Arizona (14%) and Pennsylvania (15%). At the same time, some states have seen significant increases since July, particularly among the youngest eligible voters. With the election still over a month away, there is still time for both parties to reach them.
Convincing younger voters could be the key to victory. According to a The Washington Post analysis, young voters could have a crucial impact on the presidential race. Nationwide, nearly 42 million Gen Zers will be eligible to vote, according to an 2022 census data analysis from The Washington Post. Nearly half are people of color.
Two swing states are among those states with the highest registration rate: Arizona (14%) and Pennsylvania (15%). At the same time, some states have seen significant increases since July, particularly among the youngest eligible voters.
With the election still over a month away, there is still time for both parties to reach them.
Convincing younger voters could be the key to victory. According to a The Washington Post analysis, young voters could have a crucial impact on the presidential race. Nationwide, nearly 42 million Gen Zers will be eligible to vote, according to an 2022 census data analysis from The Washington Post. Nearly half are people of color.
Eligible Gen Zers voters in the Swing States compared to the Other voting-age citizens
In the seven swing states – Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin – about 7.8 million Gen Zers are eligible to vote.
According to a CNN poll conducted by SSRS, Vice President Harris has a 12-point lead over former President Donald Trump among voters under the age of 35. But her lead among women 18- to 29-year-old is larger, 65% to 33%, while male voters are split and more likely to vote for Trump.
We don’t know how many young voters will go to the ballot because of Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Harris. But, this time, young people could make a difference if the election is as tight as expected.
