Early voting turnout for the U.S. midterm elections, especially among young people, is significantly higher than 2014’s midterm elections, according to data collected so far.
Over 31.5 million ballots have been cast for the midterms so far. That may act as a barometer of American satisfaction with U.S. President Donald Trump’s performance. The election is being held November 6, but voters have the option to submit their ballot early to help ease congestion on election day.
According to the Elections Project, done by University of Florida associate professor Michael McDonald, early voter turnout has doubled in eight states so far, including Texas and Tennessee.
In Texas, more people have voted early so far than the total number of people who voted in the state’s last midterm election in 2014. Nearly 4.9 million people have voted in the state’s 30 largest counties, compared to 4.7 million who voted in 2014, according to data from the secretary of state’s office.
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McDonald also shows that 28 states and the District of Columbia have surpassed the early voter turnout from 2014.
Early voter turnout for young people has also risen dramatically since 2014.
In Republican-leaning Texas and Georgia, early and absentee voting for people under 30 years old has increased by more than 400 per cent, according to TargetSmart, a Democratic data firm tracking early voting nationwide.
In Arizona, Florida, Pennsylvania and Nevada, the turnout of voters under 30 has at least doubled compared to 2014, with the early vote rate for young voters going up by 364 per cent in Nevada and 411 per cent in Pennsylvania, according to TargetSmart.
Only 16 per cent of people between the ages 18-24 voted in the 2014 midterm election, compared to 39 per cent of Americans overall, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
More African-Americans and Hispanics have also voted early than in 2014. African-American early vote turnout is up 327 per cent in Nevada, while Hispanic turnout increased 81 per cent in Arizona — outpacing all other voters there.
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However, it is worth noting that it is not hard for the turnout to be higher than 2014’s midterm elections, especially considering how weak it was for young voters, said Daniel Smith, a political scientist at the University of Florida.
Midterm elections often tend to have a lower voter turnout than presidential elections, but this year’s election is a chance for voters to show their opposition to Trump’s contentious presidency, which has been filled with attacks on the media, Democratic opponents and vitriolic rhetoric.
“Youth are energized, but so is everyone else this election,” Smith said.
Along with the recorded higher turnout rate so far for this midterm election, there are other signs young people are more enthusiastic.
A Harvard poll released this week showed Americans under 30 are much more interested in voting than the past two midterm cycles.
Forty per cent said they would “definitely vote” in the midterm election, up from 27 per cent in 2010 and 26 per cent in 2014.
Although actual turnout typically trails polling data by the high single digits, according to John Della Voppe, the polling director at the Harvard Kennedy School of Institute of Politics, it is still on track to beat previous years.
Higher turnout of young voters could be good news for the Democrats — 66 per cent of 18-29 year olds from the Harvard poll said they would vote Democrat.
-With files from Associated Press and Reuters