"Generation Z to Decide US Presidential Election Outcome"… Is Harris Leading?

Generation Z, 18.3% of US Voters
Voter Turnout Ages 18-29 Increases in Every Presidential Election

Photo of former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate in the United States.
[Photo by EPA Yonhap News]

In the highly competitive upcoming U.S. presidential election, analysis suggests that the voting preferences of Generation Z (born in the late 1990s to early 2000s) will determine the election outcome.

The American daily newspaper The Washington Post (WP) reported this analysis on the 25th (local time).

According to an analysis of 2022 census data, Generation Z makes up about 18.3% of U.S. voters?approximately 42 million out of 230 million people. Half of them are people of color. Notably, in seven key battleground states including Pennsylvania and Georgia, 7.8 million Generation Z voters could participate in the election.

In the U.S., voters must register before they can vote. Recently, universities across various regions have been encouraging voter registration and participation.

Generation Z voters are 'digital natives' who have used smartphones and adapted to online environments since childhood, and they are the generation that experienced school closures due to COVID-19.

They first made their presence felt in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, where President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump faced off. The voter turnout among 18- to 29-year-olds was about 44% in the 2016 election but rose to 53% in 2020. Particularly, two-thirds of college students voted in the 2020 election.

John Della Volpe, Director of Polling at Harvard University's Kennedy School Institute of Politics (IOP), predicted that Generation Z and Millennials (born in the early 1980s to mid-1990s) will play a decisive role in youth voting this year.

Photo of Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate for the U.S. presidential election. [Photo by UPI]

Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican candidate former President Trump are competing to win the youth vote. Vice President Harris has expanded digital advertising on college campuses and social media platforms and has doubled the number of youth organizers nationwide related to the election. She has also started campus tours in battleground states. Former President Trump is engaging with YouTuber Logan Paul and game streamer Adin Ross to appeal to young male voters.

Meanwhile, various polls indicate that Generation Z supports Vice President Harris over former President Trump. According to a Harvard University survey on the 24th, 64% of voters aged 18 to 29 support Harris, while 32% support Trump. A recent IOP poll showed that 74% of young Democrats and 60% of young Republicans responded that they "definitely will vote."