As election season enters the final stretch, presidential candidates are courting the youth vote, which could have a major impact on the outcome of the race.
The youth vote is characterized as the voting demographic of ages 18 to 24, however some sources characterize it as ages under 30. In the 2024 election, this age range will make up 44% of eligible voters, giving them huge sway, according to Rock the Vote.
Pierce College computer science major Dylan Pirlant thinks that it’s important to vote.
“You’re helping decide who’s going to run your country,” Pirlant said. “You’re pretty much deciding your future.”
Both Vice President Kamala Harris and Former President Donald Trump have targeted the youth vote in the closing weeks of election season. According to USA Today, Trump has put his focus on undecided young males, while Harris has put her efforts into high-profile celebrity endorsements such as Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish to increase young female support.
The gender gap between young men and young women has increased recently, “driven by Harris’s 30-point lead among women,” according to the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics.
According to the Harvard Youth Poll, Vice President Kamala Harris was shown to be leading Former President Donald Trump by 28 points among likely voters under 30.
“The political gap between young men and young women has emerged as a key feature of this election,” said Chair of the Harvard Public Opinion Project Anil Cacodcar in a statement. “The Harris and Trump campaigns have deployed extensive resources to reach both groups. Overall, young voters break strongly for Harris in this poll.”
Celebrity endorsements and targeted advertisements aren’t the only reasons young people vote. According to the Harvard Institute of Politics, “When young Americans believe their friends will vote, 79% plan to vote themselves — compared to just 35% among those who think peers won’t participate.”
This year’s National Voter Registration Day, Sept. 26, held the highest number of registrations in one day on Vote.org, with more than 35,000 new registrations. According to Vote.org, this year’s National Voter Registration Day’s numbers showed an almost 23% increase in voter registration when compared to last year’s. The site states that it, “saw a 72% increase in 18 year olds registering compared to National Voter Registration Day 2019, and a 115% increase in 18 year olds registering compared to 2022.”
Roman Bantug, a Pierce student and a first-time voter, says he plans on voting.
“I’m planning on voting because it’s my first time voting and I think it’d be pretty cool to vote in a historic election,” Bantug said.
The youth vote has been steadily increasing throughout the past election years. According to an article by Circle Tufts, roughly 50% of youth, ages 18-29, voted in the 2020 presidential election. This was an 11 point difference from 2016, which only had 39% of youth voters.
Electrical Engineering major Jorge Romero wants to vote because he feels his opinion does matter.
“It should matter,” Romero said.“And I want my choice to matter in the future of the country.”