Rock the Vote’s Thomas Bates and the Washington Bus’ Thomas Goldstein wrote an op-ed for the Seattle Times detailing how young voters will own a huge percentage of the electorate and why they should not be ignored in this election cycle.
When campaigns focus on “perfect” or “near perfect” voters, namely those who have participated in three or four of the past four elections, young people whose voting records may be perfect but too short are not targeted for those glossy mail pieces. It’s a bit like throwing a party, not inviting someone … and then wondering why they didn’t show up.
But check this out Millennial Voters, those born after 1980 are the largest generation in the history of the United States. Each day 13,000 become eligible to vote. That’s 9 million a year.
First, a touch of background about young voters: The most distinctive attribute of the rising Millennial Generation — which generally includes those born after 1980 — is its size. The Millennials are the largest generation in the history of the United States — larger than the baby boomers and twice the size of Generation X. Nearly 13,000 young people turn 18 every day across America, introducing 9 million new potential young voters this cycle.
In fact, by the year 2015, Millennials will make up one-third (yes, one-third) of the eligible electorate. Needless to say, investment in young voters is a growth market.
The older electorate is relatively stable: Very few people will change a lifelong habit of voting or not voting. But even the slightest increase in young-voter participation changes elections. If youth turnout increases modestly — say 2 percentage points (which is the equivalent of the national increase from 2004 to 2008) — it would be enough to alter the outcomes in many elections across the state.
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