ABOUT GEN Z VOTERS

As theNovember presidential election approaches, stories abound showing overwhelming support among Generation Z for former Vice President Joe Biden over President Trump, with claims like “Young voters backing Biden by 2-to-1 margin.”

While manymay assume widespread electoral support for Biden among younger voters is a fait accompli, a surprising number of Gen Z voters may have already chosen to opt out of voting come November.

The idea that these voterswould essentially “stay home” on ElectionDay is counterintuitive, given their heightened interest in our polarized times, butmy ideas changed once the fall school year reopened and I had a chance to speak with scores of students around the country. Their storieswere consistent: Gen Zerswere having trouble accepting Joe Biden as their candidate of choice and staying home and opting outwas appealing to them. Despitemy comments that this could lead to a second Trump term, students consistently said that Biden did not inspire them. …

(The) fall youth poll fromHarvard’s Institute of Politics finds a significant enthusiasm gap between the candidates: 56% of America’s 18- to 29-year-old likely voters who support Trump are “very enthusiastic” about voting for him. This stands in stark contrast to just 35% of likely voters who back Biden. Those in Gen Z are generally not excited about the Democratic nominee and tell me that they were deflated when more progressive candidates dropped out of the race.

Such lowlevels of enthusiasm may not translate to actually casting a ballot.