John, 

We are often fed the frustrating narrative that young people are disinterested in politics and too lazy to vote.

As you probably already know, this is completely untrue.

In reality, Millennials and Generation Z are an incredibly powerful voting bloc that may hold the key to victory in 2020. However, as we saw during last week’s primary election in Georgia, young people—especially young people of color—also face systemic obstacles to voting.

To make matters worse, campaigns also tend to take our votes for granted, leaving us out of the conversation until October or November, when they show up at our doors or on our social media feeds telling us to vote for them.

Now more than ever, it is important that candidates listen to us when we speak about our concerns and include us in their policy platforms.

Earning our support early in the election cycle should be a key priority for every candidate and campaign. 

We wrote a report geared towards campaigns that makes the case for the power of the youth vote in 2020 and provides guidance for engaging and mobilizing young potential voters.

Pass it along to campaigns in your community as a resource!

Young voters are less likely to be affiliated with a political party than older generations, but we are more likely to be passionate about key issues that impact our communities and world.

While it is no secret that youth voter turnout has historically been low, this pattern has been changing in recent years. An unprecedented number of young people turned out to vote in the 2018 midterm elections, which likely decided the outcome of many races—and we have every reason to expect this number will continue to grow in 2020.

But between a pandemic that will make in-person events less likely to occur and voter suppression measures designed to prevent young people and people of color from voting, campaigns will need to work harder than ever to make sure they are actively engaging with young voters early in the election cycle.

Young people have the power to decide the outcome of this election.

Candidates who connect with us earnestly, authentically, and early will be best positioned to win our votes—the time to start that process is now.

We are the pathway to victory in 2020.

Emily Leach
Senior Press Associate
Generation Progress