Economic concerns are top priority for college voters

While much of the debate surrounding college voters focuses on campus war protests and reproductive rights, America's youngest group of voters do not rank these issues as a priority. When young voters turn out in large numbers on Election Day 2024, they will likely be driven by economic concerns such as the cost of rent, groceries and tuition, according to the latest analysis from the Brookings Institution, which summarizes its ongoing research on this critical subset of the electorate.

“In short, young voters are experiencing a whole host of economic problems,” the Brookings analysis said. “These include a dramatic increase in rents and mortgages that has led many to move back in with their parents; a sharp increase in the cost of higher education that has saddled them with student debt; and limited job opportunities, even for those with college degrees.”

According to Gabriel R. Sanchez, one of the lead authors of the Brookings study, this is the continuation of an underestimated trend that has been evident among young voters for several years.

“Inflation was actually the most important issue for 18- to 29-year-old voters in 2022, so it's not a new trend in this age group,” says Sanchez. “While the national media often talks much more about ideological issues like abortion, young voters are feeling the economic downturn and voting based on the economy.”

He points to the results of the African American Research Collaborative's 2022 Mid-Term Voter Election Poll, which were an early sign of these new economic priorities. The results align with those of the 2024 Harvard Youth Poll and the 2024 Tufts Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement Youth Poll, both of which found inflation and cost of living as the top concerns of young voters this year.

Young voters are not a monolith and not all of them are in college, but these trends seem to hold true for the subset of young voters who are currently in college. A 2024 Young America Foundation poll found that economic issues are more important to college students than any social issues across party lines.

Mike Burns, national director of the Campus Vote Project, points out that youth voters are the most diverse voting bloc in the district and show interest in a wide range of issues.

“This generation of college voters is incredibly diverse and therefore motivated by a range of issues. However, economic issues such as inflation, rent/housing costs and income inequality rank just as high among them in polls as they do among older voters,” says Burns. “Students are also very concerned about mass shootings. We hear that students want elected officials to take strong action to address these issues.”

How these concerns will affect voter turnout is still unclear. Most of the political data available today predates the Democratic Party's shakeup in July, when President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee.

Early signs suggest that Harris' entry into the race has generated enthusiasm among many young voters. For example, a Tufts poll in September shows a dramatic increase in young voter registration since July. In eight states, more young voters are already registered than on Election Day 2020.

While young voters are always outnumbered by older voters, the bar for making history is higher than ever.

“2020 was also the highest-turnout election in the country's history, and youth and student turnout was particularly high, even compared to the increase in other voting groups in this election,” says Mike Burns. “So we're optimistic that we'll again see young people, and students in particular, making their voices heard in their communities at a very high level across the ballot.”