Older people and voting participation: past and future

Abstract

Contemporary politicians and their advisors focus on older voters as a pivotal segment of the American electorate. Some analysts predict that this preoccupation will intensify in the years ahead and the demands of older persons will dominate American politics. One reason for this focus on older voters is that they constitute a substantial proportion of voters today, largely because of age-group differences in voting turnout rates, and they will be a considerably larger proportion in the future because of the aging of the baby boom cohort. This article examines the voting participation of age groups in past presidential elections and explores what the voting participation of older persons could be like when the baby boom cohort reaches old age. The political significance of older persons being a large percentage of voters is considered with respect to both the past and the future.