Exit Polls: Turnout Down for Young Voters, New Voters in New Hampshire Democrat Primary

Early exit polls for the New Hampshire primary indicate that turnout for 2020 Democrats among young voters and new voters is down from previous years.

Exit polls by NBC News reveal that only about five percent of New Hampshire Democrat primary voters said they did not vote in the 2016 presidential election and only 12 percent said they had never voted in a Democrat presidential primary before — down from 16 percent in 2016 who had never voted in a Democrat presidential primary.

There was also no significant increase in the number of swing voters who voted in Tuesday’s New Hampshire Democrat primary, NBC News reports:

There was an expectation that the number of independents participating in this year’s Democratic primary might be higher than previous years, since the Republican contest is not competitive. That does not seem to have happened: 43 percent of primary voters report being registered as undeclared on the voter rolls, which is in line with prior Democratic contests when there were also hotly contested Republican races. [Emphasis added]

Likewise, NBC News exit polls show that voters ages 18 to 29 made up only 11 percent of the New Hampshire Democrat primary electorate on Tuesday, far below the 19 percent of 18 to 29-year-olds who voted in the Democrat primary in 2016.

NEW: Early New Hampshire exit polls show 11% of NH voters are 17-29, down from 19% in 2016.@SteveKornacki: "This is a significant change." pic.twitter.com/34Ow5llOqy

— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) February 11, 2020

Initial exit poll in NH shows a Dem electorate that is:
45 and older: 69%
Under 45: 31%

In ‘16, the split was 59-41%

— Steve Kornacki (@SteveKornacki) February 11, 2020

Compare that young voter turnout to the Iowa Democrat Caucus this month when about 24 percent of voters were 18 to 29-years-old.

In Bedford, New Hampshire, NBC News noted that polling locations “never got super busy” and turnout from the region is lower than 2016 totals. In 2016, 64 percent of registered voters in Bedford voted in the primary. On Tuesday, only 41 percent of registered voters in Bedford turned out to vote.

WATCH: Polls close in Bedford, New Hampshire where turnout is below 2016 levels.

Chris Jansing reports: Four years ago, 64% of registered voters in Bedford, N.H. voted in the primary. @ChrisJansing: "Final number, 41%" pic.twitter.com/GfmzSIBYxA

— NBC News NOW (@NBCNewsNow) February 12, 2020

Meanwhile, CNN touted anecdotal evidence of increased voter turnout. A CNN reported in Nashua, New Hampshire, said they saw about 300 new voters were lined up to register and then to vote in the primary. Likewise, a CNN reporter in Manchester, New Hampshire, said they had seen about 400 new voters register to vote in the primary.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.