Young voters in these two states could make or break Harris’ chances

But the number of apathetic people can be greater than the committed ones. Like Nevada, Arizona has one significant share of young people. Almost a quarter of the population is between 20 and 34 years old; an even larger proportion are under the age of 19 and represent the next generation of potential voters. A June report found by professors at Arizona State University that voters between the ages of 20 and 30 make up 19 percent of Arizona’s voting population and 18 percent of all registered voters in the state; however, in 2022 they only accounted for 10 percent of the vote. Forty-nine percent of these voters are unaffiliated.

Chuck Coughlin, an Arizona-based Democratic strategist, said young voters were expected to make up less than 12 percent of the electorate. If Harris can expand those margins, she will win in key states, he predicted; but that requires a certain degree of enthusiasm. “I think that – as much as a 62-year-old white man can speak about these things – (young voters) tend to tune out. They say, ‘I don’t want to deal with this shit anymore’ … without recognizing the crucial role they can play in the elections,” he said.

It’s a familiar pattern for Ashton, a 17-year-old Phoenix high school student on Greenfield’s selection team, who was frustrated because he’s just a little too young to vote in this election. His adult classmates, he said, are generally less than enthusiastic about casting their votes. “I think there’s a difference between ‘excited to vote’ and ‘going to vote,’” he said. While Harris may not be the “dream candidate” for young voters, Ashton argued, “we understand that minimal change is still change.”