Gen Z Is Getting Ready To Vote. Are Political Parties Speaking To Them?

Youth voter turnout exceeded expectations in 2018 and may do so again in 2020. Generation Z — those born after 1996 — is the most pro-government and anti-Trump generation, according to the Pew Research Center. But Democrats can’t count on those voters to be automatic allies.

Gen Z voters in the LA area spoke with NPR host Ailsa Chang ahead of November’s election. They discussed today’s Democratic party, and why they will — and won’t — be voting for Joe Biden.

While Gen Z Democrats are split on Biden, young Republicans are deciding whether they will support President Trump. NPR political reporter Juana Summers spoke to young Republicans about their choices and the future of the GOP.

Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, director of the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, told NPR that young voters are more concerned with issues and values than with identity and branding.

Find and support your local public radio station.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org