Ever since February 14, when 17 students and staff members were killed by a gunman at Stoneman Douglas High School in Southern Florida, “registration rates for voters aged 18-29 have significantly increased in key battleground states,” according to a new study from the Democratic data firm TargetSmart. Young people comprised 61 percent of new registrants in Pennsylvania, a 16-point increase. Virginia and Indiana saw 10-point increases, and Arizona and Florida saw 8.
Much of this may have to do with the efforts Parkland student activists have undertaken to help students register to vote. Back in May, David Hogg partnered with the New York–based organization HeadCount to organize registration drives in about 1,000 high schools across 46 states.
A group of Parkland student activists, including Hogg, Cameron Kasky, and Emma Gonzàlez, also announced a summer-long bus tour devoted to encourage students to “get young people educated, registered and motivated to vote,” Kasky said in June. “At the end of the day, real change is brought from voting and too often voting off as nothing in our country.”