With Harris on the ballot, Democrats work to build momentum for bigger youth vote

By Shauneen Miranda, Kansas Reflector

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.