logo
    • Magazine
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Racial Justice
  • Economic Justice
    • Collections
    • Glossary
  • Climate Justice
  • Health Justice
  • Leadership
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Subscribe
  • Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Complimentary Webinars
    • Premium On-Demand Webinars
  • Membership
  • Submissions

Early Voting Gives First-Time Young Voters a Way In

Jason Schneiderman
November 7, 2018
Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print
Still image from CNN Politics’ interactive map, “Early vote swamps 2014 levels as first-timers make up notable portion of ballots.”

November 6, 2018; CNN Politics and the New York Times

This year’s midterm elections have been marked by a record-setting surge in early voting. The latest counts put the total of early voters at somewhere between 36 million and 40 million ballots cast, which vastly outstrips the 22 million early votes cast in 2014. In several states, including Texas, Utah, Nevada, and Arizona, the number of early votes cast exceeded the number of total votes cast in the last midterms.

What’s more, past elections have seen early voting dominated by older people. This year, the number of early voters from 18 to 29 and from 30 to 39 more than doubled. According to Democratic strategist Tom Bonier of TargetSmart, quoted in The Hill, “Voters under the age of 30, relative to their ’14 turnout, are outperforming every other group. It’s not just like a presidential year surge, where you’re getting younger voters who only vote in presidentials coming out in a midterm. A lot of these young people are voting in their first election period.” In Texas alone, 213,000 first-time voters cast early ballots.

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

The impact of young people voting early can be seen in tight races like those in Georgia, Florida, and Illinois. Florida saw 5 million early and mail voters. And in Georgia, where Democrat Stacey Abrams has not yet conceded to Republican Brian Kemp, TargetSmart says that youth voters “cast nearly 215,000 ballots as of Saturday—a 362 percent increase over the same point in the 2014 election.” As The Nation reported last week, efforts to mobilize early voters helped to fight suppression of voting in the state; as Abrams said last Monday, “We are trying to have won this election before Election Day.”

You’ll find many takes on the role early voting played in yesterday’s election. Kat Calvin of the nonprofit Spread the Vote, speaking to the New York Times, says, “People on both sides are really fired up.”—Jason Schneiderman

Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print
About the author
Jason Schneiderman

Jason Schneiderman joined NPQ in the summer of 2013 after spending some time as a freelancer and consultant. His extensive experience in editing and publishing gives him the skills to keep the site running smoothly.

More about: younger generationNonprofit NewsPolicyPoliticsvoter recruitment

Become a member

Support independent journalism and knowledge creation for civil society. Become a member of Nonprofit Quarterly.

Members receive unlimited access to our archived and upcoming digital content. NPQ is the leading journal in the nonprofit sector written by social change experts. Gain access to our exclusive library of online courses led by thought leaders and educators providing contextualized information to help nonprofit practitioners make sense of changing conditions and improve infra-structure in their organizations.

Join Today
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

summer_sidebar_subscribe
You might also like
In Rejecting Ballot Measure, Ohioans Stood Up for Citizen Power
Isaiah Thompson
Incoherent Policy Threatens Overdose Prevention Sites
Isaiah Thompson
Capitalism, the Insecurity Machine: A Conversation with Astra Taylor
Astra Taylor and Rithika Ramamurthy
Barbie and the Problem of Corporate Power
Rithika Ramamurthy
Education Week Is Tracking “Anti-CRT” Legislation Across the US
Isaiah Thompson
Warnings of an “Unparalleled” Assault on Higher Education
Isaiah Thompson

NPQ Webinars

Oct 5th and 6th, 2:00 PM ET

Mastering QuickBooks 2023

Advanced QuickBooks for Nonprofits for Online Users

Register Now
Oct 26th, 2:00 PM ET

Becoming A Great Manager

How to Conspire and Align with the People You Lead

Register Now
You might also like
A statue of a blindfolded woman, wearing a bodice of armor and holding a sword.
In Rejecting Ballot Measure, Ohioans Stood Up for Citizen...
Isaiah Thompson
An exterior of a brick, nondescript building on a dimly lit street.
Incoherent Policy Threatens Overdose Prevention Sites
Isaiah Thompson
A desaturated image of a man standing in front of a bench over looking a body of water. His back is to the camera.
Capitalism, the Insecurity Machine: A Conversation with...
Astra Taylor and Rithika Ramamurthy

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

Summer 2023 issue

Independent & in your mailbox.

Subscribe today and get a full year of NPQ for just $59.

subscribe
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Copyright
  • Funders
  • Magazine Art

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.