Who is Gen Z voting for? That’s the big question for election pollsters

Gen Z doesn’t answer the phone, and it’s forcing pollsters like the Harris Poll, Ipsos, and Morning Consult to get creative.

Something incredible happened in the 2018 midterm election. Young people showed up in record numbers. According to Census data, 36% of 18- to 29-year-olds—encompassing both the youngest millennials and oldest Zoomers—reported voting in that election, nearly doubling the 20% turnout that had previously held steady for decades. Whether it was due to a general Trump-era rise in political awareness, or the March for Our Lives movement that started earlier in 2018, the message was clear: Gen Z was shaping up to be an electorally formidable voting bloc.