Ohio Still Lagging In Turnout Among Younger Voters

The US Census Bureau says more people under 24 voted in Ohio last year than in the last few midterm elections.  But younger Ohioans still aren’t voting in numbers as big as their counterparts in nearby states.

Ohio’s midterm elections have gone overwhelmingly Republican over the last decade. Last year, 22 percent of 18 to 24-year-old registered Ohio voters did so.

That’s more than twice the figure from 2014 – which had record low overall turnout. And it’s up from just over 20 percent in 2010.

But elections statistician Mike Dawson says that 22 percent figure is still lower than nearby states.

“In Wisconsin, it was 47 percent of 18-24 year olds voted, Pennsylvania 32 percent, Michigan 33 percent," Dawson said.

The national average for that age group was 30 percent.

Dawson also notes that there are fewer younger voters registered in Ohio than in those other states.

The most active group of Ohio voters by far was those over 65. Two thirds of those voters cast ballots in 2018 as did over half of registered voters between 35 to 64.

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