The Rising American Electorate: A Population on the Move

July 9, 2015

from Gearing Up for 2016

The Rising American Electorate (RAE) — unmarried women, people of color and young people 18-35 (Millennials) – are highly mobile. Four in ten RAE members moved between the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections and lost their registration status. That makes the re-registration of movers a top priority if the RAE share of the electorate is ever going to match its share of the population of citizens eligible to vote.

Unmarried men and women were more likely to move than married men and women.

Young voters were the most likely to have moved between 2010 and 2012.

More than one in four unmarried women moved between 2010 – 2012.

Unmarried Women and the Rising American Electorate: A Deeper Dive
An in-depth demographic, economic and political look at unmarried women and the Rising American Electorate from Lake Research Partners.

Unmarried Women: A Demographic and Economic Profile
Unmarried Women: An Electoral Profile
The Rising American Electorate: A Profile
How the Rising American Electorate Register and Vote
The Rising American Electorate: A Population on the Move

What We're Reading

U.S. Census: Unmarried and Single Americans Week

To commemorate Unmarried and Single Americans Week (September 17-23), the U.S. Census has produced a “Facts for Features” profile (PDF) of 2016 census data about unmarried Americans. Here are some of the highlights:

There are 110.6 unmarried people 18 or older in America, making up 45.2% of the U.S. adult population.
35.4 million Americans lived alone in 2016, representing 28.1% of all US households — up from 17.1% in 1970.
Despite unmarried people being 45.2% of the U.S. adult population, only 39.6% of voters in the 2016 presidential election were unmarried.

Read the rest of the U.S. Census Bureau’s “Facts for Features” profile (PDF) on unmarried Americans.

Millennials to pass baby boomers as largest voter-eligible age group, and what it means

For the first time, millennials next year will pass baby boomers as the largest generation of Americans eligible to vote.

By Ronald Brownstein, CNN Senior Political Analyst

July 25, 2017

(CNN)In 2018, the American electorate will cross a historic threshold that could reshape the political balance of power-or leave Democrats fuming in frustration at continued Republican dominance of Washington.

For the first time, millennials next year will pass baby boomers as the largest generation of Americans eligible to vote, according to the well-respected demographic forecasts from the States of Change project at the Center for American Progress, a liberal advocacy group. That transition will end a remarkable four decades of dominance for the baby boomers, who have been the largest generation of eligible voters since 1978, when they surpassed what’s been popularly referred to as the Greatest Generation (or G.I. Generation) raised during the Depression. Read more here.

How Votes Have Shifted: Changes in Partisan Performance 2000-2016

Demographic change is slowly, but inevitably, moving Western states to the left.

By Reid Wilson

The 11th story in The Hill’s Changing America series, in which they investigate the demographic and economic trends shaping the nation’s politics. Nevada’s booming growth underscores the two trends working most in Democrats’ favor: the rising power of cities that are acting more reliably liberal, and the expanding influence of Hispanic-Americans who are becoming the nation’s largest minority community. Read more here.

The Rising American Electorate: A Population on the Move

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