In the United States levels of inequality are rising, politics are becoming more polarized, only one third of Americans trust the government to “do what is right,” and only a quarter of Americans say they have confidence in elected officials. If the 2016 presidential election taught us anything it’s that Americans have serious trust issues with government, media, and institutions as a whole. But what we also learned is a bright silver lining exists down the road, and for the Unites States that is its young people, specifically the millennial and post-millennial generations.

Baby Boomers have represented the largest generation of eligible U.S voters since 1978, but this is projected to change by 2019, due to a recent Pew Research study showing that the U.S millennial population — people born between 1981 and 1996 —is supposed to surpass the Boomer population next year as millennials grow to 73 million and Boomers decline to 72 million. This means millennials will have the majority of political clout in the 2020 presidential election.

Pew Research also finds that millennials are more liberal and more diverse than all previous American generations, and according to Derrick Feldmann, founder of the Millennial Impact project, are creating the greatest amount of social change and are more politically-active than ever before. According to MI’s research, 65% of millennials voted in the 2016 presidential election, compared with 55% of the American public.

“While millennials, even the dissatisfied ones, still do have a level of trust in the government, they don’t put the future solely in government’s hands. More than half of millennials believe in the power of their own actions and the abilities of organizations they support to create positive change. They use all tools available to them — whether traditional or new — to make a difference for the issues and causes they care about,” wrote Feldmann in an op-ed for VICE IMPACT.

2017 US elections generated a massive increase in youth voter turnout.

The 2018 midterm elections will be an accurate measurement of just how active and engaged young voters are across the nation. While the previous two midterms showcased youth voter turnout levels at 24% in 2010 and a historic low of 19.9% in 2014, the expectations are different in 2018 due to last year’s youth turnout and the rising surge of millennials who disapprove of President Trump and the GOP’s agenda.

On Election Day 2017, Democrat Doug Jones ousted Republican Roy Moore in Alabama’s Special Election thanks in large part to high turnout from women of color and college towns. Lee County, Tuscaloosa County and Pike Count, home to the three largest college towns in Alabama, saw a 24% turnout increase from the state’s 2014 governor race. Virginia’s 2017 gubernatorial election recorded 34% youth turnout that propelled Democratic Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam to victory over Republican Ed Gillespie. This marked a 200% increase in youth turnout from Virginia’s 2009 governor election.

16% of registered millennial voters are “more excited” to vote in the 2018 midterms than they were in 2014, the largest increase among the older three generations.

Among registered millennial voters, more are excited to vote in the upcoming midterms than in 2010 or 2014 according to Pew’s data. In fact, the 16% increase for millennial voters is larger than any of the older three generations.