More US millennials set to vote thanks to social media

New York City, Nov. 6: As the youngest members of the millennial generation became old enough to vote in this year’s US presidential election, states and social media platforms poured efforts into online registration, hoping to attract these tech savvy voters who now rival Baby Boomers as the country’s largest demographic.

With Election Day just two days away, political experts are skeptical that a record number of millennials who signed up to vote will actually result in the 18-34 yearold age group turning out at the polls in proportion to

Millennials make up 31 per cent of US citizens eligible to vote, on par for the first time with Baby Boomers, says Pew Research Center

their relative size of the US population.

Millennials make up approximately 31 per cent of US citizens eligible to vote, according to the Pew Research Center, on par for the first time with Baby Boomers, who are typically aged 52-70 years old. There are an estimated 225.8 million eligible US voters.

Millennials have so far, however, turned out in much lower numbers in elections than Baby Boomers. In 2008, a record year for millennial turnout, just 50 per cent of those eligible to vote did so, the National Census Bureau said. That compared with turnout rates of 69 per cent for Baby Boomers and 61 percent for people aged 36 to 51.

A survey of 2,000 millennials conducted by social media platform Yik Yak showed that 62 per cent registered to vote for the first time this year.