WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Many eyes are now turning to the younger generation ahead of this upcoming election as young people could make up a large number of those casting ballots this year in Palm Beach County and across Florida.
According to data from Voterrecords.com, 18-to-30-year-olds make up the largest number of registered voters in Palm Beach County and the second largest in the state.
WPTV NewsChannel 5 talked to many students at Palm Beach Atlantic University. Almost all of them said they're registered and plan to vote. As for who they'll vote for, it's a question that could depend on the feed from their phones.
"A lot of the campaigns, especially in this cycle, have finally realized they need to focus a lot of their time, a lot of their money and a lot of their ads on social media," WPTV political analyst Brian Crowley said.
PBAU students told WPTV a similar story.
"A lot of influencers were encouraging us to vote, and that kept reminding me, I kept forgetting to register, but then I was like, 'All right, I'll register,'" sophomore Jay Alilin said.
Sophomore Ally Boughton agreed.
"In high school, people used to get stickers when they voted and they'd post it on social media," she said. "I think that helped a lot of them to want to vote."
The sophomore students aren't the only ones looking to social media pages for guidance before casting a ballot.
"It's honestly where I get most of my news," senior Joanna Zein-Eldin said.
"That's how I knew that election time was coming around," freshman Jack Hawkins said.
"I think social media is enormously influential for younger voters," Crowley said.
In turn, Crowley said, the influence these young voters have on the election will rely on how many actually cast a ballot — and for which party.
"There is this assumption that younger voters tend to be liberal. There is some truth to that, but it's far from an absolute," he said. "So, the question remains, who will do a better job of turning out their younger voters?"
It's an election outcome registered voters at PBAU told WPTV they want to have a say come Tuesday.
"I was actually just filling out my vote-by-mail ballot," freshman Elly Judy said.
Crowley said, in 2018, when Gov. Ron DeSantis first ran for election, people 50 and older made up 62% of the vote. The other 38% were 40 or older. Crowley said he's interested to see what happens now four years later, especially with student debt, the cost of living and abortion all on the ballot.
