[Sign up for our politics newsletter and join our conversation about the 2020 presidential race.]

Reflecting the emphasis being put on young voters in the 2020 race, five Democratic presidential candidates answered questions from students and young voters in CNN town hall-style events Monday night from Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire.

The Bernie Sanders campaign in 2016 and a focus on young voters in the 2018 midterm elections have put increasing emphasis on them as an important demographic, particularly for Democrats. Nearly 60 percent of people 18 to 24 say they’re Democrats, while just a third say they’re Republicans, according to an analysis of Pew Research Center data over the last year.

But it remains to be seen whether young voters will turn out on a large scale. Even with the youthful support for Mr. Sanders in 2016, a study by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement found that Mr. Sanders “did not inspire a surge in turnout from young Democrats.” Less than 20 percent of young voters turned out in primaries in Nevada, Iowa and New Hampshire, according to exit polling by Edison Research.

Still, Democrats see enormous potential.

“Young voters are listed as low-propensity voters,” said Louis Elrod, president of the Young Democrats of America, the youth arm of the Democratic Party. He explained that because many young people don’t donate to campaigns, or don’t have a voting record yet, campaigns usually don’t take the time to talk to them like they would other voters. “You hear this bias all the time that young people are apathetic. We’re not apathetic.”