Throughout the month of April, the Institute of Politics (IOP) at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government will be releasing results from its 35th National Youth Poll, which examines "the political opinions and civic engagement of young Americans ages 18 to 29.”
The first set of data was released today—and the findings give us a peek at the potential power of young adults as a voting bloc during the midterm election. First, many more young adults are planning on voting.
A new national poll of America’s 18- to 29-year-olds by Harvard’s Institute of Politics (IOP), located at the Kennedy School of Government, finds a marked increase in the number of young Americans who indicate that they will “definitely be voting” in the upcoming midterm Congressional elections. Overall, 37 percent of Americans under 30 indicates that they will “definitely be voting,” compared to 23 percent who said the same in 2014, and 31 percent in 2010, the year of the last “wave” election.
What’s also notable is that this extra interest is stronger for young Democrats. If the #BlueWave happens, young people will be a significant contribution.
Young Democrats are driving nearly all of the increase in enthusiasm; a majority (51%) report that they will “definitely” vote in November, which represents a 9-percentage point increase since November 2017 and is significantly larger than the 36 percent of Republicans who say the same. At this point in the 2014 election cycle, 28 percent of Democrats and 31 percent of Republicans indicated that they would “definitely” be voting. In the Spring of 2010, 35 percent of Democrats and 41 percent of Republicans held a similar interest in voting.
This is a big deal. Young adults have long been less likely to vote, but perhaps the current political climate will help change that trend for good. There’s reason to be hopeful because, as IOP’s polling director John Della Volpe notes, “This generation of young Americans is as engaged as we have ever seen them in a midterm election cycle.”