Young Adult Voting

Voting is one of the most important civic opportunities citizens of the United States can exercise. In recent elections, a great deal of attention has been focused on the number of young people casting ballots.  A new report published by the U.S. Census: Young-Adult Voting: An Analysis of Presidential Elections, 1964 – 2012, found that voter turnout among younger people has traditionally been low and the trend is worsening.

In every presidential election since 1964, voters between the ages of 18 and 24 have consistently voted at lower rates than all other age groups. Moreover, younger voters are moving toward less engagement with the electoral process. Voting rates among 18-24 year-olds has dropped from 50.9% in 1964 to 38.0% in 2012. Part of the reason for the decline is the increase in the noncitizen population, which cannot vote.  According to 2012 Census estimates, the noncitizen population of the United States has grown to over 22 million people.

In contrast, Americans 65 years of age and older typically have higher voting rates than other age groups. In 2012, the voting rate among older people was 69.7% - six percentage points higher than the next highest age group. Interestingly, this has not always been the case. In 1964, the oldest group of Americans actually voted at a lower rate (66.3%) than both 25-44 year-olds (69.0%) and 45-64 year-olds (75.9%). It was not until 1996 that older Americans starting voting at higher rates than all other age groups.

The report also found that younger Americans consistently under-vote relative to their eligibility. For example, in 2012 persons aged 18-29 years made up 21.2% of the eligible voting population but only 15.4% of the voting population. Meanwhile, Americans 65 and older comprised 19.1% of the eligible population and made up 22.3% of the voting population.

In spite of a number of get-out-the-vote campaigns aimed at younger voters, young adult voting rates are still well below all other age groups. Offering some encouragement, the Census Bureau report noted that age-based historical voting patterns are not set in stone. In 1992 and again in 2004, voting rates for young adults increased significantly. The 1992 increase was short-lived, as young-adult voting rates dropped off in the next presidential elections, but young adult voting rates increased again in 2004 and in 2008 before dropping off again in 2012.

That voter participation rates among young people are lower than other age groups is something most of us already knew. The question is what to do about it.  We know big issues can bring people to the polls, and that cynicism and hopelessness can keep them away. Over the past year, the League of Women Voters Long Beach has stepped up efforts to engage with young people by visiting high schools, inviting high school government classes to our meetings and holding student-organized candidate forums.  Something we can all do is to be a good example to the young people in our lives by voting and being engaged politically.  We can all lend a hand in helping the next generation understand that preserving our democracy depends on them.