by Ethan Wolbach
The U.S. has witnessed an increase in younger voters, 18 to 29 years old, casting their ballot this election. For some, this is the first election they are eligible to vote and able to impact the future of America.
Statistics show 28% of young people voted in 2018, the highest midterm election turnout in decades, according to CIRCLE, the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning & Engagement. Election 2020 has brought unprecedented youth voter turnout.
“A lot of young people voted in 2016. And over the course of the four years have come to really change their mind about how they feel about candidates, as a result of four years of the Trump administration,” said Dr. Barbara Pickering, a professor in the School of Communication at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Pickering teaches Media and Politics this fall semester.
Even those eligible to vote in the 2016 general election but chose not to, have watched how the Trump Administration has handled issues across America causing an increase in voter registration and voter turnout.
“We’ve almost moved from a stage where the first step was getting students to get registered, Pickering said. “Well, that’s only part of the process because you have to get people to commit to going to vote. And I think there’s been a lot more attention to that this year.”
Camaraderie has an enormous impact on youth voters and as according to the Democratic firm, Targetsmart, nearly 7.6 million young voters have already cast their ballot before Election Day.
“Research shows that particularly for 18 to 29-year old’s, that peer pressure or encouragement makes a big difference,” Pickering said. “In 2016 and 2018, there were college campuses that did a march to the polls and organized sorts of things to encourage people to vote, almost making it a party. And there was criticism, saying it needs to be more serious, but the bottom line is, those are ways to get people to the polls.”
Freshman enrollment at UNO this fall stands at 3,299 students. Some alike Kyra Creamer, are eligible to vote for the first time this election. Creamer said she, has emphasized to her friends of the value of voting.
“I have one friend who just turned 18, and I asked if she was going to vote, and she wasn’t sure,” Creamer said. “I told her reasons as to why she should vote and why it is important as an American. I think that everyone should vote, especially for their first time to see how important it is.”
Creamer said that not only her vote, but the votes of millions of youth voters could change the course of history in this election.
“I feel like a lot more of the younger generation will vote in this election because I am seeing them post on their social media about their political views and trying to influence others to vote for a certain candidate,” Creamer said. So, I feel like they will make a big impact with the amount of youth votes there will be.”
Social media has played a large role in this year’s election as across the social media platforms, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat there is information about voter registration and voting guidelines for users to interact with. However, information on social media is not the only place youth voters are finding influence on their political ideas.“My political beliefs have been highly influenced by social media. I see tweets from each candidate, which helps me to learn about them personally,” Creamer said. “But also, I have been influenced by my parents and siblings growing up, which has helped to form my political views.”
