There is also good reason for all the get-out-the-vote efforts targeting young people by the left. "Young voters vote primarily Democratic, by about a 2-to-1 margin," says Rice's Mark Jones. "From a partisan perspective, there's a clear benefit to Democrats to get as many of these younger voters out as possible."
Ultimately, it remains to be seen if those young voters show up to help out Democrats. In 2016, pre-election polls showed Hillary Clinton with a large advantage among millennials and voters under 30, but it didn't matter because most of those people never voted.
For this year, Jones does not foresee a seismic shift in the age of the electorate. "Historically, younger voters have voted much less than middle-aged and senior voters...that trend will still continue this year," he says. "The question that remains is if the younger voters will close the gap with their elders."