Millennial voter turnout doubled from 2014 to 2018


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.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
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.
Check out more 2018 voter data at Pew Research Center.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
Film reviews: The Phoenician Scheme, Bring Her Back, and Jane Austen Wrecked My Life
Feature A despised mogul seeks a fresh triumph, orphaned siblings land with a nightmare foster mother, and a Jane fan finds herself in a love triangle
-
Music reviews: Tune-Yards and PinkPantheress
Feature "Better Dreaming" and "Fancy That"
-
Withdrawing 529 plan funds for college? Here's what to know.
the explainer Maximize the amount you have stashed away for your education
-
Elon Musk slams Trump's 'pork-filled' signature bill
speed read 'Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong,' Musk posted on X
-
Depleted FEMA struggling as hurricane season begins
speed read FEMA has lost a third of its workforce amid DOGE cuts enforced by President Donald Trump
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report
speed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students
speed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulings
Speed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffs
speed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs