Can Generation Z Swing The 2022 Elections?

[Cheerful Charlie]

https://www.rawstory.com/expert-gen...disdain-for-trump-could-sink-the-gop-in-2022/

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Expert: Generation Z Voting Power Is Underrated And Their Disdain For Trump Could Sink The HOP in 2022

Voters under 30 shattered previous turnout numbers for their age group in the 2018 and 2020 elections. That overlooked reality bodes well for Democrats in the 2022 election -- but only if the party makes it a priority to connect with young voters and doesn't take them for granted..
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Volpe pointed out a seldom-noted fact: that voters in the 18-to-29 age group turned out in the 2018 midterm elections in numbers that doubled the previous cycle. He credits young voters with having netted a game-changing 10 Congressional seats and 2% of the overall vote in that election.
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Q. This is a recent development, isn't it?
A. Yes. From 1986 to 2014, you'll find that the percentage of young people voting was pretty consistent, with the average turnout of 18-to-29 years old's right around 15%. Then it went up to around 18% and then it doubled in the 2018 midterms..
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We can hope the horrors of Trump. Abbott, DeSantis and others energize younger voters in big swing states.

 

[Politesse]

That overlooked reality bodes well for Democrats in the 2022 election -- but only if the party makes it a priority to connect with young voters and doesn't take them for granted..

ie. what it usually does...

 

[Jarhyn]

That overlooked reality bodes well for Democrats in the 2022 election -- but only if the party makes it a priority to connect with young voters and doesn't take them for granted..

ie. what it usually does...

It may be a bit of a hot take on the issue but much of it comes down to the fact that young voters are a much harder group to target.

The platforms young people use are usually going to be "the new one(s) you don't really know to care about yet". Oftentimes it's going to be several, most of which will evaporate soon.

The actual young people who care blend into the morass of young people shouting at the dusty old fart to quit with their "hello fellow children"s, the ones who love obfuscated with those who only meme.

It's a hard problem, and one that comes into focus as I get older and closer to the generational razor which will shave me clean some day of the face of progress if I am not careful.

 

[zorq]

That overlooked reality bodes well for Democrats in the 2022 election -- but only if the party makes it a priority to connect with young voters and doesn't take them for granted..

ie. what it usually does...

It may be a bit of a hot take on the issue but much of it comes down to the fact that young voters are a much harder group to target.

The platforms young people use are usually going to be "the new one(s) you don't really know to care about yet". Oftentimes it's going to be several, most of which will evaporate soon.

The actual young people who care blend into the morass of young people shouting at the dusty old fart to quit with their "hello fellow children"s, the ones who love obfuscated with those who only meme.

It's a hard problem, and one that comes into focus as I get older and closer to the generational razor which will shave me clean some day of the face of progress if I am not careful.

When I turned 18 MTV was trying to "Rock the vote." I watched MTV, and a huge chunk of my acquaintances in High School watched MTV, but let's just say that the vote was not thoroughly "rocked." Don't get me wrong, I voted, but I was more motivated by my HS Government teacher. She was pretty awesome.

 

[Harry Bosch]

That overlooked reality bodes well for Democrats in the 2022 election -- but only if the party makes it a priority to connect with young voters and doesn't take them for granted..

ie. what it usually does...

You really think that Obama and Bernie overlooked the younger vote? Youths turned out a little higher for Sanders, but not substantially. You can't blame politicians for targeting people who have a history of actually voting.

 

[Jarhyn]

It may be a bit of a hot take on the issue but much of it comes down to the fact that young voters are a much harder group to target.

The platforms young people use are usually going to be "the new one(s) you don't really know to care about yet". Oftentimes it's going to be several, most of which will evaporate soon.

The actual young people who care blend into the morass of young people shouting at the dusty old fart to quit with their "hello fellow children"s, the ones who love obfuscated with those who only meme.

It's a hard problem, and one that comes into focus as I get older and closer to the generational razor which will shave me clean some day of the face of progress if I am not careful.

When I turned 18 MTV was trying to "Rock the vote." I watched MTV, and a huge chunk of my acquaintances in High School watched MTV, but let's just say that the vote was not thoroughly "rocked." Don't get me wrong, I voted, but I was more motivated by my HS Government teacher. She was pretty awesome.

That's because "reaching" young people is a lot harder than a Disney afternoon, just like getting a girlfriend is a lot harder than walking up to a pretty girl and saying she is pretty.

You can't just say "this is good, you should do it", you have to engage, give people reasons, and make it so that some element of their behavioral model sees the vote as a step in the path towards what they want.

It could be an effective first hint that voting is important, but in reality, that kind of advertising just is not expected to work. It may even do the inverse, as being told to do something without a concrete understanding of why will generate resistance, especially from the young.

In fact, one of the best ways to get kids to vote would be to make hamhanded manipulations to obviously and ineffectively stand in their way.

The easiest way to guarantee kids on your lawn is to be an angry lolcow when there are kids on your lawn.

 

[Politesse]

That overlooked reality bodes well for Democrats in the 2022 election -- but only if the party makes it a priority to connect with young voters and doesn't take them for granted..

ie. what it usually does...

You really think that Obama and Bernie overlooked the younger vote? Youths turned out a little higher for Sanders, but not substantially. You can't blame politicians for targeting people who have a history of actually voting.

I definitely think they took them for granted.

And yes, I can absolutely blame politicians for being cynical, self-interested slimeballs. In fact, I do so all the time.

 

[Harry Bosch]

You really think that Obama and Bernie overlooked the younger vote? Youths turned out a little higher for Sanders, but not substantially. You can't blame politicians for targeting people who have a history of actually voting.

I definitely think they took them for granted.

And yes, I can absolutely blame politicians for being cynical, self-interested slimeballs. In fact, I do so all the time.

You think that Bernie took them for granted? Yes, I agree with you that politicians are cynical, self-interested and mostly slimeballs. However, they are also human. And just like everyone else, they are going to devote time and resources on the groups that they hope will vote for them. And young people just don't vote.

 

[Politesse]

You really think that Obama and Bernie overlooked the younger vote? Youths turned out a little higher for Sanders, but not substantially. You can't blame politicians for targeting people who have a history of actually voting.

I definitely think they took them for granted.

And yes, I can absolutely blame politicians for being cynical, self-interested slimeballs. In fact, I do so all the time.

You think that Bernie took them for granted? Yes, I agree with you that politicians are cynical, self-interested and mostly slimeballs. However, they are also human. And just like everyone else, they are going to devote time and resources on the groups that they hope will vote for them. And young people just don't vote.

I kind of appreciate Sanders (and voted for him in two primaries) but I am not so foolish as to imagine that he would have accomplished all the things he said he was going to. At the end ot the day, Democratic politicians treat all minority voting blocs, youths included, as flashy side projects to be pandered to superficially when its election season and ignored if not outright talked down to the rest of the time. They assume that because the Republicans are unashamedly trying to kill or deport anyone not like their demographic base, that minority voters must vote for the DNC if they vote at all. And they're often right. But that kind of hubris does sometimes carry a cost, somewhere down the line.