As states across the country count 2020 election ballots for the third day, new analysis reveals young adults of color made their voices heard on November 3. According to a poll published by The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning & Engagement (CIRCLE), Black, Asian, and Latinx youth reported high turnout for Democratic candidate Joe Biden.
The study, which examined exit polls from the Associated Press and National Election Poll, looked at the number of young people between the ages of 18 and 29 who cast their ballots early in key battleground states. According to the data, nearly 10 million young people turned out to vote, and they were heavily likely to favor the Democratic candidate. 71% of Latinx youth have voted for Biden, compared to 54% of their white counterparts, which could have made a significant difference in critical swing states. Young Latinx voters in Arizona were 17% more likely to support Biden, who is currently in the lead there, than white youth.
Although Trump won Texas’ 38 electoral college votes, the study revealed that 91% of Black youth and 73% of Latinx youth supported Biden, while the majority of young white voters in the state backed Trump, at 51%. Despite losing the Lone Star State, Biden did make major inroads in what was once a conservative stronghold, besting Hillary Clinton’s 2016 margin by more than four points.
While Trump remains slightly ahead in Georgia and North Carolina, both states saw 90% or more of Black youth voting for Biden, while the majority of white youth supported Trump. In a statement to the news website Voice of America, CIRCLE noted that the youth voter share in Georgia is “highest of any state for which we have data, which nearly matches the percentage of eligible young voters in the electorate.”
Outlets like the New York Times and FiveThirtyEight believe that Biden has a chance to overtake Georgia, with just over 10,000 votes separating him and the incumbent as final ballots are tallied. On Twitter, CIRCLE remarked that if Biden wins the state, he will “owe his victory in large part to Black youth, who overwhelmingly supported him.”
Georgia has been reliably Republican since the 1992 election of Bill Clinton, but this year became a swing state for the first time in decades due in large part to its changing demographics. Its blue surge is also due in large part to initiatives by voting rights activists like former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, who has long championed the fight against voter suppression in Georgia. In 2018, Abrams founded Fair Fight Action, an organization dedicated to ensuring all voters have access to the ballot box.
