Young voters spoke up in November: In 2023, politicians must respond

With the swearing-in of the 118th Congress, new and returning elected officials nationwide may be tempted to keep their focus on the challenges of a new session rather than reflecting on the midterms and the voters who helped elect them to their coveted seats. This includes young voters, who some studies have suggested many winning candidates, especially Democrats, can thank for their success. 

Based on a pre-election poll conducted by the Sine Institute of Policy and Politics at American University (where I am executive director) revealing a lack of trust in America’s political system among young generations, I believe it would be a mistake for either party to take youth support for granted. If elected officials want to attract and retain the backing of young voters, it will be critical for them to try to understand exactly how and why young people made their voices heard in November.  

It’s evident from post-election analysis that young people made an impact on the midterms, especially in helping Democrats counter what was predicted by many experts to be a “red wave” of Republican victories. According to AP Votecast, a national survey of voters used by the AP, Wall Street Journal and Fox News, 18- to 29-year-old voters supported Democratic House candidates over Republican House candidates 53 percent to 40 percent. In a recent Intercept article, Tom Bonier of the data firm TargetSmart said the organization found that the Democratic youth vote in five states approached the notably high levels of the 2018 elections.  

Why was this? As I often say in conversations about elections, while all issues matter, some issues motivate. Our poll showed that young people were passionate about certain policy issues, including abortion, climate change and gun safety. The election results suggest that Democrats did a better job of making their policy positions clear on these issues and that their positions aligned with more young people’s ideologies and perspectives. Bonier’s view is that many young Americans went from seeming disconnected early in the election cycle to rallying around Democrats after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision and in the wake of legislative wins by the Biden administration.  

Democrats also attracted the youth vote by modernizing their communications and reaching young people where they were. The Sine Institute poll showed that across the political spectrum, a traditional media strategy is inadequate for reaching young voters. Our data reported that over half of young voters are regular Instagram users (54 percent), and 38 percent are regular TikTok users. The Democratic National Committee, which has its own TikTok account, has promoted the platform’s use among Democratic candidates. 

The Alliance for Securing Democracy at the German Marshall Fund of the United States tracked and cataloged 227 TikTok accounts created and used by U.S. major party candidates in Senate, House, gubernatorial and secretary of State races in November. They found that only 12 percent of Republican candidates in those races had TikTok accounts, compared to 34 percent of Democratic candidates in those races. This shows that to entice young people to show up at the polls, candidates and parties must not only make their stances clear on the issues that matter to youth but also modernize their communications tactics in reaching them.  

Most notably, our poll revealed that young generations have very little faith in our political system and are skeptical of civic institutions across the board. Young people doubt their own efficacy in the political system and believe it has major structural disadvantages for them, making their turnout in the midterms almost surprising and painting a bleak picture for their continued participation. Many young people lack trust in both parties and could conceivably be happy to sit elections out unless elected officials take them and their priorities seriously. This won’t be easy. But it will be necessary to attract and retain the support of this crucial group, which is growing in power and influence.  

Now that the election is over, it’s time to govern. And while campaigns are about contrasts, governing is about consensus. For elected officials to count on youth support in the future, they’ll need to have honest conversations with young people about the issues that matter to them, reassure them that their voice is heard in elections and in policymaking, modernize their approach to communications and find ways to come together to achieve legislative results on the issues youth care about the most. Their political future and our democracy could depend on it.  

Amy K. Dacey is the executive director of the Sine Institute of Policy & Politics at American University.