NextGen Virginia’s Get Out and Vote Program Helps Deliver Historic Voter Turnout Across the Commonwealth
NEXTGEN VIRGINIA 2020 PRIMARY: BY THE NUMBERS
TOTAL PAID STAFF ON THE GROUND: 21
TOTAL VOLUNTEERS: 47
TOTAL CAMPUSES WITH PROGRAM: 11
TOTAL PLEDGE TO VOTE CARDS COLLECTED: 2,108
TOTAL TEXTS SENT: 58,463
TOTAL PIECES OF DIRECT MAIL SENT: 12,085
VOTERS REGISTERED: 1,316
Overall turnout in Virginia surged past 2008 levels, delivering a win for former Vice President Biden and showing huge democratic excitement regardless of age. With unique and buzzworthy events like cake giveaways, debate watch parties, and non-stop voter registration campus events NextGen Virginia built a strong on the ground program that helped turn out young voters across the state. In addition to a strong student-focused field program that worked across 11 campuses, NextGen Virginia found young voters online and on their phones providing them with critical information about early voting and boosting voter turnout. With massive Get Out The Vote efforts running every year since 2017, the NextGen team has helped young voters turn out at record levels four-years running, and that will be the key to victory in November 2020 as well.
“It’s been incredible seeing enthusiasm among young voters in Virginia increase over the past several years, and this year has been no different. While national issues have certainly pushed once-apathetic people into full-fledged activists, our teams on the ground are having really meaningful encounters around local issues,” said, Andrew Parrow NextGen Virginia Organizing Director. “Students in Virginia are contending with corporate interests that don’t advocate for green policy. They’ve seen the stark rise in public acts of white nationalists. Young voters in Virginia see just how powerful their voices are when they vote.”
YOUTH VOTER TURNOUT SURGES IN 2020
In youth-dense precincts across the commonwealth, young voter enthusiasm led to wild increases in ballots cast compared to the 2016 primary. Just as statewide turnout was breaking records, campus precincts saw hundreds of more young voters compared to just four years ago. Interestingly, while Bernie Sanders seems to have kept his wide margin of victory with young people on campus precincts, Joe Biden began to match Sanders’ strength in millennial-dense non-campus precincts — a trend that could help him as the primary continues.
| County | Precinct | Nearby Campus | Youth Density | 2016 Dem Votes | 2020 Dem Votes | 2020-2016 |
| ALBEMARLE | 202-University | UVA | 90% | 542 | 1349 | +807 |
| CHARLOTTESVILLE CITY | 303-Buford | UVA | 79% | 501 | 931 | +430 |
| CHARLOTTESVILLE CITY | 401-Venable | UVA | 92% | 330 | 769 | +439 |
| FREDERICKSBURG CITY | 201-Precinct 1 District 2 | UMW | 46% | 755 | 1246 | +491 |
| WILLIAMSBURG CITY | 002-Matoaka | W & M | 63% | 1256 | 1670 | +414 |
| HARRISONBURG CITY | 103-Southeast | JMU | 64% | 604 | 915 | +311 |
| MONTGOMERY | 702-Precinct G-2 | V Tech | 83% | 481 | 810 | +329 |
| RICHMOND CITY | 505-Five Hundred Five | VCU | 85% | 514 | 885 | +371 |
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In 2020, NextGen Virginia will work to ensure Virginia stays blue, Senator Mark Warner earns another term in the Senate, and we defend Democrats in VA-02 and VA-07. Building off a strong 2019 program that registered over 8,000 young voters and knocked on more than 35,000 doors ultimately flipping the State House, NextGen Virginia has deep roots on campus and community heading into the general election.