Several key factors contributed to President-elect Joe Biden’s success in Pennsylvania, including a group of voters that did not always show up in vast numbers at the polls, according to New York Times.
According to Young Voters, they were a key voting bloc that helped Biden lock down the Keystone State Center for information and research on learning and civic engagement (CIRCLE) at Tisch College at Tufts University.
“When we look at overall turnout, it appears to be very high in the 2020 election, and certainly across the country, well above 2016, and Pennsylvania is an example of one of the places where young people, we think , made a clear impact on the results,” said Abby Kiesa, deputy director of CIRCLE.
CIRCLE analyzed data from the Associated Press.” AP Voting survey i National Electoral Poolexit poll and concluded that Biden largely benefited from the support of the voting bloc.
“Young voters increased turnout in 2020; they made a difference in key battleground states; and the participation and overwhelming support for President-elect Joe Biden from youth of color was one of the hallmarks of the election,” he claims. CIRCLE analysis.
Young voters are described as voters between the ages of 18 and 29.
MAPS: Counties that pushed Biden for president in Pennsylvania.
CIRCLE’s analysis shows that in Pennsylvania, 58 percent of young voters chose Biden and 39 percent chose Donald Trump, resulting in a lead of about 155,000 votes between the two candidates.
It is worth noting that the youth voting bloc is not a monolith.
“What we have seen in past elections is that there can be quite significant differences in candidate support among young people based on race and ethnicity,” Kiesa said.
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In fact, CIRCLE’s analysis allows us to draw conclusions about the influence of young voters on the next step forward.
“While young voters played a key role in Joe Biden’s election victory, young people of color played an especially key role,” CIRCLE’s analysis found. “While white youth voted for Biden by a slim margin (51% to 45%), youth of color gave him overwhelming support.”
In Pennsylvania, this trend is especially evident.
Eighty-five percent of “young voters of color supported Biden in Pennsylvania (33 points more than white youth),” CIRCLE said in its summary.
Overall, this augment in young voters didn’t happen overnight. According to CIRCLE Analysis 2018In the 2018 midterm elections, the voter turnout among young Pennsylvanians was 18 points higher than in 2014. This augment in youth turnout was greater than the augment in turnout among all groups.
In fact, it is the culmination of years of grassroots organizing by groups such as A recent generation of Americaa progressive organizing group and political action committee that has been energetic in Pennsylvania since 2016.
“From Erie to Northampton County to Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, we had people digitally organizing campuses and we just knew how important it was going to be to increase the number of young people and make sure we were able to deliver those 20 electoral votes to Joe Biden,” said Sarah Eagan, press secretary for NextGen America in Pennsylvania.
NextGen Pennsylvania has more than 2,000 field volunteers and 42 campuses with programs, according to a news release.
“In this difficult and unpredictable year, young voters persevered in their mission: first to remove Trump and his allies, and then reverse the damage they have caused. Generation Z and Millennials are the future of this country. Trust us: this is a coalition that will not give up. And, most importantly, just don’t mess with Philadelphia,” Larissa Sweitzer, Pennsylvania’s NextGen state director, said in a statement.
Despite the obstacles presented by the Covid-19 pandemic, the organization was able to continue reaching young voters.
“We knew it was going to be difficult, but our guys were really well prepared to pivot [to digital outreach]. Since young voters live online anyway, this was a really natural transition,” Eagan said. “Clearly digital decluttering is working.”
In the five days leading up to November 3, Pennsylvania’s NextGen fielded more than 500,000 calls and text messages to young voters, and one of the main themes was that youth knew how to complete all the steps to vote by mail.
“We are seeing a really low percentage of ballots discovered, which has been a huge concern. “I think this is largely due to NextGen’s efforts to educate young voters on how to use secrecy envelopes and ensure that ballots are returned in their entirety,” Eagen said.
With young people voting proving to be key to Democrats’ future success in the state, Eagen said there are crucial lessons to be learned from Biden’s victory.
“It’s going to be a game changer in terms of whose concerns we listen to and who gets a seat at the table, and it’s going to have to be young people,” Eagen said. “As we move forward, I think young voters really hold the key to changing our democracy and empowering themselves to make sure that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris keep their word” when it comes to advancing issues that matter to young voters like climate change and student debt .
Kenny Cooper is a member of Hearken Election SOS and is helping Capital-Star cover the 2020 election and its aftermath. Follow him on Twitter @Kenny_Cooper_Jr.
