Young people don’t vote in high numbers, despite their elders complaining about it, but candidates who chase the youth vote might shore up future support through that outreach.
With their numeric force, young voters “could determine the next president,” as NBC26 in Green Bay, Wisconsin noted. The country is filled with 83 million millennials milling about, and they’ve eclipsed baby boomers.
Except, that is, in ambling to the polls. In 2012, Americans age 65 and older had voter participation rates of 72 percent. Those under age 30 trailed behind at 45 percent. Even though some pollsters have predicted millennials will vote in droves, it’s little more than fanciful thinking. Millennials might say they’re likely to vote in the next election, but they don’t follow through.
Maybe that isn’t so bad, contrary to the woes of politicians and pundits. Young Americans have less life experience and they’re less engaged in various aspects of society. If they want to join in the political fray, they have the option. But, as they focus on building a career, a family, and a life they value, political primaries fall to the wayside.
In the short term, candidates don’t benefit by pandering to millennials. Bernie Sanders has crushed Hillary Clinton for the Democratic millennial vote, but he hasn’t been able to overtake her in any but a handful of states so far. Millennials, like most Democratic voters, aren’t showing up to the polls to carry him to victory.
In the long term, candidates pushing specific values and beliefs benefit from catering to the young. They find the most energized youth voters, give them campaign experience, and set the foundations for a future candidate’s victory. Bernie Sanders could fail at winning the Democratic nomination, but he might succeed in pulling the Democratic Party to the left, in line with European social democracy instead of the moderate technocracy that holds sway among party leaders today.
The 83 million millennials won’t choose the 2016 president, but the 2024 election should brace for their effect.
