One of my favorite movies is Saving Private Ryan. Twenty-five years after its release, I keep thinking about the D-Day scene on Omaha Beach, with tens of thousands of young infantrymen leaving their landing crafts into a hellish, cacophonous tableau of bullets and artillery fire from strategically perched, well-entrenched German troops, the surf bright crimson with their blood.

That was my father’s generation. Sometimes I wonder if I’d have the courage to exit those landing craft. I’d like to think so but who knows.

This comes to mind because just like 80 years ago, a generation has an opportunity to rise to the defense of democracy. And all they have to do is vote.

Here’s the issue: Many Americans ages 18 to 29 have historically sat out presidential elections. While young adults’ 2020 presidential election turnout of 55% was a 48-year high and way up from 44% four years earlier, it badly lagged the 78% of Americans age 60 or older who voted in 2020.

With so much at stake, why aren’t young adults voting? We set out to understand more about that phenomenon, commissioning a poll of 3,221 Americans, of whom 572 were 18- to 29-year olds.

In our poll, just 55% of 18- to 29-year-olds said they were very likely to vote in November or had already. By comparison, 79%  of Americans age 30 and up can be expected to show up on November 5. Equally as concerning is the fact that just 51% of 18- to 29-year-olds surveyed agree that they are “lucky to live in a Democracy.”  That compares to 74% of Americans over the age of 30.  

Why are so many young people turned off? When asked to choose from among a list of eight reasons people under the age of 30 have been significantly less likely than the general population to vote in presidential elections, respondents 18 to 29 cited “Feel My Vote Doesn’t Count” (21%), “A General Feeling of Hopelessness (19%), and “Feel Neither Party/Candidate Represents My View” (15%) as the three top reasons.

The bottom line: too many young people feel neglected, unvoiced, and even alienated and are bringing that disaffection to bear in a disinclination to vote.

 I understand this Election Year Ennui. The last dozen years or so have hardly been confidence-building for lovers of American democracy, civil discourse and seamless presidential elections. Factor in the Great Recession,  the COVID Pandemic and perceived shortcomings on government performance relative to a handful of issues so particularly critical to young people – from climate change to gun violence – and their cynicism is understandable.

As fitful as progress has been, the truth is that over time our democratic system has trended ever-forward toward freedom, equality, tolerance, justice, and advancing the common good – usually with a helpful push from voters who have chosen leaders committed to those values. 

The one thing all pundits agree on is that this will be a very close election. In the swing states, it could come down to a few thousand votes. The great paradox of the 2024 presidential election is that if they turn out in numbers – as they did last year in Poland’s paliamentary elections – young people may never have a great opportunity to shape the future.

As Franklin Delano Roosevelt once said, ”Democracy’s greatest threat is indifference’.” It really comes down to this: either vote or submit to the will of the people who do. 

– Rob Densen, Tiller Founder and CEO