NEW ERA

Younger Voters Eclipsed Baby Boomers for First Time in 2016

“The influence and clout of the Baby Boomers is waning, and Millennials are rising.”

For the first time, voters in Generation X and Generation Y made up a larger number of ballots counted in the 2016 election than did older generations, according to a new report by a labor economist from the Pew Research Center. “The influence and clout of the baby boomers is waning, and millennials are rising,” Richard Fry said. His study revealed that those younger than age 51 cast 70 million votes during the last election. Older generations—including those known as baby boomers and the silent and greatest generations—accounted for only 68 million votes. “The millennial population and the millennial electorate, they’re going to continue to grow in size. So far their turnout hasn’t really materialized,” Fry said. “We would expect their turnout to increase more as they mature.”