Washington - Arab Today
In the final days of the US presidential race, the two candidates Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton seek to attract the largest number of votes from the youngest members of the millennial generation (those aged 18-34).
Media reports show high proportion of young people who said that they were registered to vote as social media encourages them to register online.
Analysts believe that the electoral turnout amongst young people will not be at the same level recorded in the 2008 2008 presidential election between President Obama and Republican rival John McCain, considering that the next message of the millennium generation is "not to trust" candidates and politicians in general.
Millennials are important as their number is estimated according to the latest report released by the US Census Bureau in last April at 75.4 million, while a new study from the Pew Research Center showed that Millennials make up approximately 31% of US citizens eligible to vote, on par for the first time with citizens who are typically aged 53-75 years old. Because of the increasing numbers of young people, candidates are making great efforts to attract them.
A Professor of Political Science at US Georgetown University Claude Felix told Qatar News Agency (QNA) that there have been coolness among American voters in general from both Democratic and Republican parties, adding that Donald Trump's candidacy came as a "protest" on the existing system and as an attempt to break the stereotype of the US presidential candidate and there is a consensus that he is a businessman and does not have any background in political action.
He also added that Sanders almost has the endorsement of the party but he had defeated narrowly in front of his rival Clinton in the primaries. He said that the recent national polls indicate that this segment of voters have begun tend to the candidate of the Democratic Party, and that much of them will boycott the elections due to their lack of conviction of any of the candidates.
He further added that Sanders's support for Clinton during the campaign could help her to win a significant number of undecided young voters.
Talking to QNA, one of the volunteers for Clinton's campaign student Zack Vilgor (22 ) who is in charge of the Democratic Party campaign at George Washington University said that Hillary's statement in the recent debate which support the idea of (debt-free college) helped to win many of the university's student on their side.
For her side, student Jennifer Williams (20), a volunteer in the campaign expressed her happiness as a girl in supporting Clinton, who may become the first president of the United States.
During her election campaign Clinton had revealed a special plan to bring down student loans which allocate roughly $115 billion to student loan forgiveness.
This $115 billion is a third of her proposed $350 billion "New College Compact." In total, the plan could save student loan borrowers billions of dollars every year.
In recent weeks, President Obama took advantage of his popularity among young people in order to support the Democratic candidate to become his successor at the White House.
Source: QNA