Younger voters have already made their presence felt. The last three elections

turnout has hit record highs among those born after 1997. That's the

generation known as Gen Z. Their votes were critical in electing Joe Biden and

in maintaining the Democrat Senate majority. This year both the

Harris and Trump campaigns are heavily courting them. A new book looks at how

Gen Z is different from other generations and the effect

they're likely to have on American politics for years to come. It's called

the Politics of Gen Z how the youngest voters will shape democracy.

The author is political scientist Melissa Deckman,

who is CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute.

Melissa, you write, not only are there going to be changes

in the future, but you write that they're already there going to be changes in the future but you

write that they're already making changes that for instance long-term trends have

flipped in terms of political participation yes so in my book I chronicle how Gen Z women are now participating in politics at higher levels

than their male counterparts.

And this is really unique in American history.

I demonstrate how an earlier generation younger women were not as

likely to participate as men, but today you see a surge of activism among young women.

And I think it's carrying over into 2024 in this election cycle too.

And you talk about how there are more critical of the parties and they're less

partisan than their older counterparts.

Yeah, that's true on both sides.

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