College students voted in big numbers in 2020. Are they ready to do it again?

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At The College of New Jersey in Ewing, first-year student Roman Carlise waits in line at a voter registration table.

He’s not a fan of the political skirmishing this election season. It bothers him watching people bickering, “when they’re supposed to fix the problems.” 

Why We Wrote This

What effect will young voters have on the November election? Trends from prior years show that their habits are changing over time, often motivated by issues that matter to them.

Americans ages 18 to 24 have historically voted in very low proportions – 15 to 20 percentage points below the rest of the population.

But rates of voting by young people have quietly been rising to unprecedented levels, despite attempts in some states to make it harder for them. 

More than half of Americans ages 18 to 24 turned out for the 2020 general election, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That proportion was up by more than 8 percentage points from 2016, and has been closing in on the voting rate for adults of all ages. Among college students, the proportion who voted was even higher.

Young people are propelled by concerns that directly affect them, such as global warming, the economy, reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights, student loan debt, and gun safety. 

Mr. Carlise plans to be among those casting a ballot this year. “I’m just not the type to say, ‘There’s nothing I can do.’”  

Bethany Blonder and her friends line up at the voter information table in the student union before organizers have even finished setting it up in time for lunch.

It’s true that a fire drill has chased them there from their dorm on the campus of The College of New Jersey, or TCNJ. But the women are also quick to rattle off what they see as the existential issues that make them hell-bent on casting their ballots in the general election.

Climate change, for instance. 

Why We Wrote This

What effect will young voters have on the November election? Trends from prior years show that their habits are changing over time, often motivated by issues that matter to them.

“All of our lives are at risk – our futures – and the lives of our neighbors, the lives of our friends,” says Ms. Blonder, a freshman from Ocean Township, New Jersey. “Every time there’s a hot day outside, I’m like, ‘Is this what it will be like for the rest of my life?’”

Americans ages 18 to 24 have historically voted in very low proportions – 15 to 20 percentage points below the rest of the population as recently as the presidential election years of 2008 and 2012, with an even bigger gap in the 2010 midterms, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

But rates of voting by young people have quietly been rising to unprecedented levels, despite their lifetimes of watching government gridlock and attempts in some states to make it harder for them to vote.



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