Tuesday, June 7, 2016 is Election Day in California as Central Coast voters head to the polls to pick their primary candidates for President of the United States, Congress and various supervisor seats in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Monterey Counties, among other choices.
The younger demographic is notoriously absent at the polls compared to older citizens, unless it’s a presidential election and even then, it peaked at just 50 percent of eligible voters back in 2008 compared to 70 percent of those 50 and older.
A new Pew Research Poll shows the number of millennials eligible to vote now roughly matches that of Baby Boomers—both in the 69 million range. The report said, “while the growth in the number of millennials who are eligible to vote underscores the potential electoral clout of today’s young adults, millennials remain far from the largest generational bloc of actual voters. It is one thing to be eligible to vote and another entirely to cast a ballot.”
Also, 69 percent of Boomers said they voted in the most recent election while just 46 percent of millennials claim the same thing.
Tyler Payton is a student at Cal Poly and self-described activist on the issues surrounding diversity and joined KCBX News Director Randol White to talk about the importance of voting for her generation.