Millennial voter turnout doubled from 2014 to 2018

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published 29 May 2019

Millennials are officially taking over the polls.

They, along with Generation X and Zers, turned out in higher numbers than Baby Boomers and older generations in 2018's midterms, newly available Census Bureau data reveals. That same trend showed up in 2016's presidential election, but 2018 marks the first time Gen Xers and younger outvoted their elders in a midterm, Pew Research Center reports.

Boomers and older generations cast 60.1 million votes in 2018, while Gen Xers and younger cast 62.2 million, the census data shows. But mortality among older Americans isn't purely responsible for that shift. Turnout among eligible Baby Boomer voters actually reached its highest ever portion — 64 percent — in 2018, while the older Silent Generation also saw a five percent jump from 2014 to 2018.

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Still, it's Gen Xers and especially Millennials who are starting to make the biggest dent. Gen X turnout jumped from 38 to 55 percent, while Millennial turnout nearly doubled from 22 to 42 percent from 2014 to 2018, Pew notes. Gen Zers also entered the picture for the first time, with 30 percent of eligible voters reporting they went to the polls. They're expect to make up 10 percent of the electorate by the time the 2020 election rolls around, and with younger voters tending to skew Democratic, their addition might be enough to turn the White House blue.

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.

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