SAN FRANCISCO - (INT) - Millennials are less likely to vote than older Californians Tuesday, but more likely to identify as liberal and prefer higher taxes for more government services.

Those findings are part of the demographic characteristics and political leanings of registered and likely voters—and nonvoters—across the state, as determined by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC).

Only 53% of Millennials (aged 18-34) are registered to vote, compared to 76% of Baby Boomers and 87% of the Silent generation (aged 71-88). The likelihood of voting increases sharply with age: only one in four Millennials are likely voters, compared to three in four Silents. Notably, Baby Boomers (39%) make up the biggest share of the state’s likely voters.

Millennials are the most likely to say they are politically very liberal or somewhat liberal and the least likely to call themselves very or somewhat conservative.

When asked about ballot issues for the fall, Millennial likely voters were far more likely than other age groups to support legalizing marijuana (79%), extending the Proposition 30 tax increases to fund education and health care (77%), and increasing the cigarette tax to fund health care (83%). Millennial likely voters are also much more likely to view immigrants as a benefit to California.

Millennials (58%) are more likely than others to fall in the lowest category of income (less than $40,000/year). As may be expected, younger Californians (23%) are less likely than Gen Xers (34%) or Baby Boomers (31%) to have a college degree.

The PPIC found The distribution of race/ethnicity and immigration status across age groups reflects a rapidly changing social landscape. Latinos outnumber whites among Millennials (42% to 28%) and Gen Xers (41% to 36%), while whites outnumber Latinos among Baby Boomers (56% to 26%) and Silents (72% to 15%). The share of Asian Americans declines with age, accounting for 21% of Millennials and only 5% of Silents. The proportion of African Americans is similar across age groups.

Story Date: November 7, 2016