How Democrats are building momentum for a bigger youth vote

Shauneen Miranda,

 States Newsroom
August 16, 2024 

The Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, visits a campaign office on Aug. 9, 2024, in Glendale, Arizona. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Democratic and left-leaning youth organizing groups have seized on a new opportunity to rally younger voters now that Vice President Kamala Harris is their party’s presidential nominee.

Young adult voters — including millions of Gen Zers — could be pivotal in determining the outcome of the race in which the 59-year-old Democrat vies for the Oval Office against former President Donald Trump, 78, the GOP presidential nominee. Members of Gen Z eligible to vote are 18 to 27 years old this year.

These groups say young voters are excited to possibly elect someone who more closely represents their demographics, as Harris would be the first woman to serve as president, the second Black president and the first president of South Asian descent. About 45% of the Gen Z generation eligible to vote are young people of color, according to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University.

Democrats nominated Harris after President Joe Biden, 81, gave up his reelection bid following a disastrous performance in a June 27 debate and intense pressure on him to drop out.

The organizing groups are also highlighting Harris’ connection with young people on issues that have historically been important to this demographic, such as protecting reproductive rights and climate action.

Battleground states

With less than three months to go until Election Day, these groups are in full swing as they target battleground states in which the presidential contest has historically been particularly close and utilize their state and local chapters for youth voter outreach.

Kati Durkin, western vice president of Young Democrats of America, said they have a “pretty targeted campaign plan” that narrows in on traditional swing states — such as Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin— to reach out to YDA members in those states and help members contact their peers.

“We’re really looking at: How do we mobilize the young vote using our network of chartered units across the country? So how do we get in there and go tell folks on a college campus in Nevada, ‘Hey, here’s how you register to vote, here’s why voting is so important and here’s why we’re really excited about Vice President Harris’?”

YDA, directly affiliated with the Democratic Party, is the largest youth-led, partisan political organization in the country and has over 20,000 members across all 50 states.

Durkin said the group makes sure that “as our folks on the ground are doing the work, we are bringing in the people from the Washingtons and the New Yorks of the country and getting them to help make calls in a state like Nevada, but also making sure that, as the DNC does youth-targeted outreach, we’re bringing our members to that, we’re helping with that infrastructure.”

Similarly, College Democrats of America — the official collegiate arm of the Democratic National Committee — communicates with its local chapters that are working on the ground in their respective areas to get out the vote.

“We’ve seen a lot of local organizations really do a lot of heavy lifting, especially in districts that might be historically red, to get the youth vote out, make sure that people on their campuses or in their states are actively registered to vote (and) are excited about voting,” Gia Iyer, deputy communications director for CDA, told States Newsroom.

CDA is also collaborating with other youth organizations to get their messaging spread beyond the confines of who their individual accounts follow on social media.

“It’s a lot of just outreach and making sure that we can get as many young people to be excited about this election,” Iyer said.

Youth and advocacy groups unite behind Harris

Shortly after Harris announced her intent to win the Democratic nomination, a coalition of youth organizing groups, including YDA and CDA, endorsed Harris.

“As a champion of reproductive freedom, climate action, economic justice, and gun violence prevention, Vice President Harris is uniquely equipped to build a coalition of young voters who will lead her to victory,” 17 youth and advocacy groups said in a late July statement.

The organizations highlighted Harris’ historic presidency if elected, as she would be the “first woman, first Asian American, and second Black president.”

“As members of the most diverse generation in our nation’s history, a Kamala Harris presidency would be one in which we see ourselves,” the coalition said.
Volunteer sign-ups

Voters of Tomorrow — one of those 17 organizing groups backing Harris — had more people apply to join its chapter network and more volunteer sign-ups in the three days after Harris’ announcement than it did in the two months prior.

The left-leaning organization aims to increase youth voter turnout and has a chapter network across more than 20 states.

Part of the group’s key efforts, according to deputy press secretary Jessica Siles, include running an organizing boot camp to train young people and having weekly text banks and phone banks.

Siles said the group’s chapter network “will also be organizing on different college campuses, whether that’s voter registration drives or town halls with local candidates, just trying to meet young people where they’re at, whether that’s on a campus or online, and trying to get them the resources they need to protect our future.”

Recent polling shows Harris holding a lead over Trump, particularly among young voters. In a Morning Consult poll conducted Aug. 9-11, 48% of voters ages 18-34 say they would choose Harris, compared to 41% who would pick Trump.

Durkin of YDA said “not only is (Harris) the right candidate for the job, but she has generated so much excitement. I have not seen it in years, I mean just this morning, my friend was texting me: ‘Is this what hope feels like?’”

Harris is “somebody that has put her effort, historically, into backing up her values, which are our values, and showing up for young people, and I think that is a lot of what’s generating this excitement,” Durkin added.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, whom Harris tapped to be her running mate, has also generated enthusiasm from young voters.

Iyer of CDA said Harris is “really catering to a younger, more progressive audience, which is great,” adding that “Walz, himself, is an incredible governor who’s done great things for people across his state, and it’s just a really great combination to see someone who actually is advocating for issues that matter to young Democrats, like the members of CDA.”

Uncommitted voters

Though Harris is gaining momentum among young voters, pro-Palestinian organizers are putting pressure on both the Biden administration and Harris, as she campaigns for the presidency, to enact an arms embargo on Israel. It’s not yet clear how much of an effect opposition to the Israel-Hamas war may have on turnout among young Democrats.

The “Not Another Bomb” national campaign is the latest initiative from the Uncommitted National Movement, where a wide swath of organizers, including young and progressive voters, have protested Biden’s policies regarding the Israel-Hamas war.

Organizers are urging Harris to “shift away from President Biden’s disastrous policy on Gaza,” saying a “call for a ceasefire and arms embargo is a moral and human imperative.”

Activists are also holding a “Not Another Bomb Day of Action,” with rallies across the country during the weekend leading up to the Democratic National Convention.

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