Excerpt from the Dayton Daily News
The youngest voting generation isn’t getting to the polls as readily as older voters, according to a Super Tuesday primary exit poll.
Of Super Tuesday voters who went to the polls, only 13 percent were 18 to 29 years old, a turnout rate well below other generations, according to the NBC exit poll.
That does not surprise a Wright State University education and leadership studies professor who has been plumbing the depths of Generation Z, the generation born between 1995 and 2010 — a group who is becoming increasingly important as they graduate from high school and even college.
The oldest members of that generation will celebrate their 25th birthday this year.
“It’s the turnout we’re concerned about,” said Dr. Corey Seemiller, talking about her latest findings on the group’s voting choices.
Gen. Z voters want to see “authentic” candidates who reflect their ethics and values, she said.
“That they have a candidate who is ethical — that is huge for them,” Seemiller said in an interview Wednesday, the day after Super Tuesday voting in 14 states and one territory. “Also, one who is caring. But they also said ‘realistic.’ They want that person to have some plans.”
