Could Young Voters Decide the Presidency?

1. Set Focus 
Pose this essential question: Why is voting important? How might a democracy be affected by low voter turnout?

2. Read and Discuss 
Have students read the article, marking key ideas and questions. Then ask them to answer the following questions, citing text evidence:

• Which details in the article help explain why young voters could decide the presidency? (One detail that helps explain this is the quote from Jesse Barba about Gen Z and Millennials together being the largest voting bloc. The details about young people potentially turning out in large numbers to vote and the graph about youth engagement in the election also help explain why.)

• Does the author convey a point of view about whether youth voter turnout will be higher this year? Explain. (Though the author quotes experts and provides evidence to support each point of view, she doesn’t express an opinion on the topic other than that the answer is “uncertain.”)

• What are the different ways Covid-19 could affect youth voter turnout this year? (Covid-19 could motivate more young people to vote. The article states that 79 percent of young people have become more aware of how politics affects their lives because of Covid. It might also result in fewer young people voting, because on-campus voter registration events are not being held to help slow the spread of the virus.)

3. Core Skill Practice
Assign, print, or project the activity Tying Texts Together. Have students use it to write a prediction about youth voter turnout, supporting their points with details from this article and  “An Election Like No Other” on page 6 of the magazine.

4. Writing Prompt
Write a script for calling young people to try to convince them to vote. Include two potential comments from the people you call and ways to respond.

5. Classroom Debate
Should voting be mandatory in the U.S.?

6. Quiz & Skills
Use the quiz to assess students’ comprehension and Be the Editor to review grammar skills.