“Unlike their elders, who came up with fresh memories of civil rights activism, young folks aren’t willing to tolerate voting for the ‘lesser of two evils.’ They told us they would just as soon stay home,” said Sam Fulwood, a fellow at American University’s Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies….

“There is a level of disenfranchisement and disengagement,” he added. Woodbury also argued that some of Trump’s messages have resonated with younger Black voters in particular. In focus groups, according to Woodbury, younger Black voters often mention the criminal justice reform bill that the president signed into law, his support for increased funding for historically Black colleges and the low Black unemployment rate before the coronavirus outbreak.

“A lot of people have had their eyes opened to the importance of voting, with the death of George Floyd and the civil unrest, but they don’t believe Joe Biden would be the person who would really do anything different,” she said. “A lot of voters I talk to — the younger ones especially — aren’t just going to go out and vote for Biden because he says, ‘If you’re Black, you vote for me.’ ”