Young voters' roles in US 2020 election remain unclear

WASHINGTON - The United States 2020 election might see a larger number of young voters cast their ballots and accordingly make a difference to the result, even if they have been a minority voting bloc, according to statistics and experts.

"Young people have historically voted in lower numbers than older people. That still is likely to be the case. But (former US Vice President Joe) Biden outpolls (President Donald) Trump by more than a two to one margin among young people," Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Darrell West told Xinhua.

Some experts said the upcoming battle over a Supreme Court nominee will mobilize the youth to vote to some degrees.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away earlier this month, allowing the president to appoint someone new to the highest court position. Competition has already sparked between the two parties.

Biden has tried to activate the youth by using celebrity spokespeople, such as allowing rap sensation Cardi B to hold a recent virtual conversation with the Democratic nominee, but some of his own party members cast doubts on whether those efforts will bear fruit.

According to the latest Forbes Under 30 Voter Survey in partnership with John Zogby Strategies, 57 percent of likely young voters said they would choose Biden over Trump. The Democratic candidate even hit a record 60 percent when the same poll was conducted in June.

Trump may have gained some young supporters during the 2020 Republican National Convention in August by elaborating his vision for the country, and the percentage has jumped from 31 in June to 35 now, according to the Forbes survey.

The survey disclosed that most young people say they are "definitely" or "very likely" to vote this year, which almost doubled the 46 percent that voted in 2016.

Despite this, experts believed that although the young group may favor Biden over Trump, they are not likely to vote in large numbers and especially during the pandemic.

Christopher Galdieri, assistant professor at Saint Anselm College, told Xinhua that exacerbating that trend is the "disruption of college life across the country, which means the usual registration and mobilization techniques are going to come up a bit short."

Considering nearly half of those voting for Biden plan to do so by mail, Galdieri worried young people tend to make mistakes in filling out forms.

"Young voters are more likely, all things being equal, than older voters to make errors completing and turning in absentee ballots. In key states with close races, that could make an impact," he said.

Among Generation-Z and millennial voters, Biden's numbers are generally the same as that of former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016.