The 2024 election is shaping up to be a tight race. How big is Gen Z's voting bloc?

Every vote is important in a presidential election, but campaigns often set their sights on a few key groups they believe could help tip the scales in their favor during a close election. One of those groups could be young voters, or more specifically, Gen Z voters, the generation with the youngest eligible voters.

How old is Generation Z?

Gen Zers are between the ages of 27 and 12, nestled between Millennials and their younger counterparts, Gen Alpha, with birthdays ranging from 1997 to 2012.

How many Gen Zers are eligible to vote in 2024?

Although the tail end of this generation will still be too young to cast a ballot this November, the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement estimates that "40.8 million members of Gen Z (ages 18-27 in 2024) will be eligible to vote, including 8.3 million newly eligible youth (ages 18-19 in 2024) who will have aged into the electorate since the 2022 midterm election," many of whom are people of color.

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Gen Z's importance in the November election

As the first presidential debate nears on Thursday, June 27, USA TODAY previously reported on some of Gen Z's topics of interest: foreign policy and the Israel-Hamas war came to the forefront, along with Donald Trump's convictions in the hush money trial and Joe Biden's age.

Historically, young voters tend to have lower turnout than older age groups. This year, though, young voters have stepped into the political sphere in significant ways, like organizing protests calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

According to Pew Research, the Democratic party tends to have more support from young voters than Republicans.

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The Democratic National Committee has taken an interest in young voters in part by giving media credentials to select influencers and social media creators with thousands and millions of followers at the Democratic National Convention.

All eyes will be on how many young voters turn out this November and which presidential candidate they support more after an election cycle steeped in activism from college-aged voters.