41 Million Members of Gen Z Will Be Eligible to Vote in 2024
Authors: Alberto Medina, Sara Suzuki
Contributors: Peter de Guzman, Lily Feng, Katie Hilton
At a Glance: Major Findings
8+ Million New Potential Voters
More than 8 million youth who need to be engaged will have reached voting age in 2024 since the 2022 midterms.
Nearly Half Are Young People of Color
Approximately 45% of the Gen Z electorate in 2024, including 47% of newly eligible voters who have aged in, are youth of color.
Diverse Electorates in South and West
In regions with key swing states, Asian, Black, and Latino youth make up a large share of newly eligible voters.
In recent years Gen Z has been a major force in civic life, leading social movements and voting at higher rates than previous generations did when they were the same age. In the next presidential election, 40.8 million members of Gen Z (ages 18-27 in 2024) will be eligible to vote, including 8.3 million newly eligible youth (ages 18-19 in 2024) who will have aged into the electorate since the 2022 midterm election. These young people have tremendous potential to influence elections and to spur action on issues they care about—if they are adequately reached and supported by parties, campaigns, and organizations.
A Diverse Electorate
“Young voters” are often talked about as a monolithic group, but they are a highly diverse generation whose identities and experiences shape their political attitudes and engagement. About 45% of the 40 million Gen Zs who will be eligible to vote in 2024 are young people of color, including 8.8 million Latinos, 5.7 million Black youth, 1.7 million Asian Americans, and 1.8 million multiracial youth.
Among the newly eligible voters since 2022 (those ages 18-19 in 2024), young people of color make up an even higher 47% share.
The diversity of this age group presents both challenges and opportunities to expand the electorate and build a more representative democracy. Young people of color have historically voted at lower rates than white youth and did so again in 2020 and 2022. Youth with different identities often have different issue concerns, face varied barriers to participation, and require different pathways to electoral engagement.
In addition, the newest eligible voters (ages 18-19) often vote at lower rates: 18% in 2022, compared to 24% among youth ages 20-29. Addressing these differences and inequities will require concerted efforts to reach and engage young people across age groups, race/ethnicity, rurality, and other factors.
Youth of Color Are a Potential Force in the South and West
The task of engaging youth of color is vital across the country but may be especially critical in the South and West (as defined by the U.S. Census), where they make up a majority of the electorate that will be eligible to cast a ballot in their first presidential election.
In the South, Black and Latino youth each make up just over 20% of youth who will have turned 18 since 2020 and 2024. Alongside Asian youth, multiracial youth, and young people with other racial/ethnic identities (including Native Americans), youth of color will make up just over half of newly eligible voters in this region that includes states like Texas, Georgia, and Florida.
In the Western region, white youth and Latino youth will both make up about 40% of young people eligible to vote in their first presidential election. The West also has the highest percentage of Asian youth (8%) and multiracial youth (6%) of any region. Western states like Arizona and Nevada have featured some of the most competitive and decisive races in recent elections, including the 2022 midterms, which highlights the potential electoral influence.
