Audience Analysis of Young First-Time Voters for the 2022 Midterm Elections

Description of Audience: 

• The new voter group for the 2022 US midterm elections is a sizable demographic that potentially diversifies the electorate and significantly impacts the midterms' turnout (Guzman, 2022).

  • Young voters tend to lean more leftist for their political ideology. 

    • For instance, they believe in climate change, support reproductive rights, and support LGBTQ+ and gender equality.

  • The 18-19 age range makes up 16% of the 18-29 age group of the elections (Guzman, 2022). 

• There is a higher share of the youth of color in the newly eligible voter group that seems to support democratic candidates, mainly due to Black and Asian voters (Guzman, 2022).

  • However, there is a lower voter turnout for young people of color than white youth. 

    • WHY? (Guzman, 2022): 

      • Challenges to voter registration 

      • Political campaigns tend to ignore young voters of color. 

      • Lack of education about voting and elections in schools

      • Difficult to rearrange work and school schedules to vote.  

• In the scenario of the midterm election, from the politician's perspective, newly eligible voters are the Third-Persona Audience that is dismissed in the communication. 

  • Thus, the voters tend to feel disconnected from politicians who do not value their needs. 

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How Audience Responds to Rhetoric:

• Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, resulting in more young women registering to vote in hopes of fighting the Supreme Court's decision (King & Weisman, 2022). 

• The issue is that when political leaders dangle the values of the young voters, they tend not to live up to their promises. 

  • Thus, voters feel discouraged from participating in politics. 

• It is frustrating for young voters; there is so much political unrest, and it seems that no action is being taken. 

  • Voters do not think that democratic leaders are capable of fighting back against the Republican agenda. 

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How Audience is Constructed in Rhetoric:

• In July, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Nikema Williams filed a bill to expand youth access to voting for 16-to-17-year-olds for pre-registration (King & Weisman, 2022). 

  • Politicians understand the general importance of providing aid to young voters. However, it is unclear if this is done to increase voter turnout or if newly eligible voters are necessary to the democratic agenda (King & Weisman, 2022). 

• Young voters heavily supported President Joe Bidden; however, only 1% of 18-to-29-year-olds approve of the president (King & Weisman, 2022). 

  • Biden's agenda has not benefitted young people despite making numerous promises about college debt, healthcare, and reproductive rights during the election. 

• US leaders are almost three to four times older than new voters. Thus, they do not share similar experiences, which makes it easier to ignore the youth demographic in the political landscape (King & Weisman, 2022).

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My Opinion on Audience Analysis: 

• Young, newly eligible voters are significant influencers in the 2022 midterm elections, so it is essential to understand their needs and wants. However, there still seems to be a lack of research regarding what they, as a demographic, are looking for in the US government. 

• This analysis did not include any information on what youth voters are discussing on social media platforms, such as TikTok or Twitter, which would provide some more personal perspectives on what voters are thinking ahead of the November elections. 

  • Analyzing social media for political trends amongst newly eligible voters would be valuable. 

• I think audience analysis is helpful because, often, rhetoric is more reflective in its impact and relation to the audience. It can indicate how the more influential groups may react and behave after hearing the rhetoric, which illustrates the success of the rhetor and communication. 

References 

Guzman, P. (2022, July 11). More than 8 million youth are newly eligible voters in 2022. The 

circle at Tufts. Retrieved October 1, 2022, from https://circle.tufts.edu/latest-research/more-8-million-youth-are-newly-eligible-voters-2022 

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King, M., & Weisman, J. (2022, July 14). Young voters are fed up with their (much) older 

leaders. The New York Times. Retrieved October 2, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/14/us/politics/youth-voters-midterms-polling.html