The Caring Cited in Young Voters
By Darrell Berkheimer, As published in The Union
For many of us, our care and concern for others reaches its heights during the year-end holidays. But some analysts are saying that social justice and empathy issues are motivating our youngest voters to react year-round, and to turn out in higher numbers at elections.
For weeks we have been hearing dire warnings about the potential end of our democracy as a result of the coming election. But I believe our younger voters and a majority of women offer a brighter horizon, and I’m expecting them to save us from that catastrophe.
To fortify that projection, let’s look at voting statistics and what analysts are saying.
During the past three decades our youngest voters – aged 18 to 29 – cast ballots at rates as low as 15% to less than 25% – especially in midterm elections. But they voted at a record 31% in the 2018 midterm balloting. Then in the 2020 presidential election more than 50% cast ballots. And a survey released the end of November notes that 57% between the ages of 18 and 34 expect to vote in next year’s presidential election.
That survey was conducted by CIRCLE – the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University.
CIRCLE observed that next year Gen Z youth alone will account for 40 million voters, including 8 million who will have newly reached voting age since 2022. They will account for one-fifth of the electorate. Together with Millennials – at ages 28 to 43 – they will comprise 40% of the total electorate – a substantial force in the next presidential election.
And the attitudes of our youngest voters, as noted in a Dec. 5 ABC News report, has provided me with some optimism for our future. The headline said “Issues, not candidates, are motivating young voters.”
The article explained young voters are motivated by social justice issues, starting with abortion. It noted they are mobilizing to protect personal freedoms, including racial, sexual and LGBTQ rights. They also favor gun controls and climate change actions.
More details about the attitudes of our youngest voters are cited by John Della Volpe, director of polling for the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School. He is the author of a book titled “Fight: How Gen Z is Channeling Their Fear and Passion to Save America.”
In an interview with The Harvard Gazette about the book and his views, Della Volpe was asked why he said Gen Z is “the GOP’s worse nightmare.”
Della Volpe replied, “Gen Z are values-based voters motivated by a protection and expansion of the basic rights – clean air, clean water, to feel safe in school, reproductive rights. They’re concerned about those who are more vulnerable … specifically members of the LGBTQ community. Basically, the protection of our democracy. Those are what I would call the table stakes.”
He added, “They’re empathetic, and they’ve got solutions to the challenges they care about.”
He observed they will be active “in all the ways you’d expect, and that includes more young people running for office, and more young people participating in local politics, in state politics.”
When asked about their strength as a voting bloc, he said, “I think any place where Gen Z feels like others are marginalized, they’ll show up. Wherever they feel vulnerable Americans are being taken advantage of, they’ll show up.”
And he linked Gen Z with Millennials in noting they share political values and the way in which they view the world government. “Both generations care about the same issues. … The biggest difference is Gen Z has an urgency about their approach that Millennials lack.”
His responses serve to indicate that both Gen Z and Millennials likely will vote heavily for Democrats because Republicans mostly fall on the negative side of those civil rights and values that concern the two generations.
In addition, women have been outvoting men for decades at an average rate of 53% to 47%. In 2020, women outvoted men by nearly 10 million more votes – 82.2 million to 72.5 million. And they voted overwhelmingly for President Joe Biden – by 15 points with 57% for Biden and just 42% for Donald Trump.
Also, I am one who believes that women tend to be more compassionate as a result of their motherhood roles, which indicates they lean toward the same values and issues that are mobilizing our youngest voters.
So I anticipate voters heading to the polls in higher percentages next November – with both young voters and women tipping the scales toward keeping our democracy, especially if they remind one another of the critical need for their votes.