America’s youngest voters could hold the key to whether the US elects its oldest president in history in November. But, as Democrats convene online for a pandemic-plagued convention this week, they must face the fact that Generation Z (loosely defined as those born between 1995-2010) — some of whom will be voting in their first presidential election — are far from thrilled with the choices before them. That could translate into fewer of the youngest Americans bothering to vote at all.  

A recent Pew Research Center survey showed that among 18 to 29-year-olds, strong support for their presidential candidate was almost the same whether that person was the Republican president Donald Trump or his Democratic rival Joe Biden — and both figures were dismally low, at 10 per cent for Mr Trump and 11 per cent for Mr Biden.

William Frey, demographer at the Brookings Institution, wrote recently that over half of the US population was now in either the Generation Z or millennial age bracket, and they are more racially diverse than older generations. That should mean they are more likely to vote Democrat.