The Christian Science Monitor

Watch out, 2020: Young voters are on the rise

Sara Chadwick of the March For Our Lives movement checks her texts, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018, at a phone bank get-out-the-vote event in Parkland, Fla.

Vikiana Petit-Homme tried to get the Boston University student to look her in the eye.

“I can’t vote,” implored Vikiana, the youth leader of March For Our Lives Boston, on the eve of the election. “But maybe you could vote for me?”

The bubbly 17-year-old wasn’t running for office. She wasn’t even advocating a particular candidate. She just wanted to make as many youth voices heard as possible in the most important midterm of her life. 

The BU student insisted he just didn’t have the time. But despite such resistance, Vikiana and thousands of others like her across the country persisted in urging their peers to vote.

The effort appears to have paid off.

Young people turned out on Election Day in the highest numbers the United States has seen in a midterm in at least 25 years – a double-digit improvement over 2014,

‘Generation Columbine’Parkland: It’s not just about gunsRecord youth tilt toward Democratic candidatesNext step: Holding lawmakers accountable

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