Increasing Informed Political Engagement for the Youth

Introduction

Youth civic engagement is vital in shaping the future of American politics. Casting a ballot is a critical avenue through which young people can express their aspirations for social and political change, and influence the future of the nation that they will eventually take control of. Despite this, youth voting engagement remains far lower than that of their older counterparts. The following analysis aims to unpack the youth voter turnout and present a solution to increase informed civic Engagement for the Youth. 

Why Young People Don't Vote

Despite the youth’s calls for change and passion for social and political reform, youth voter turnout has been consistently low. Through research conducted immediately after the 2022 midterm elections across 40 states, the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tufts University found that only 23% of youth between the ages of 18 and 29 voted. 

According to Scott Warren, a fellow at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins, “A lot of young people want to make the world a better place… But they don't necessarily see politics as the way to do it.”. Warren credits the lack of political participation amongst young people to the lack of civics education in the United States. While most states have mandated United States government courses, the curriculum generally covers facts and figures related to the American Government rather than equipping future voters with the tools that they need to understand relevant issues on a ballot. Due to the lack of relevant civics education for young people, many require assistance while going through the process of voting. Like Luis Valdivia-Diego, a first-generation college student who had to navigate the process of voting without the aid of his family, nervous and unsure of who or where to ask for help. In the article “The power of young voters: shaping North Carolina’s political landscape” by Carolina Public Press, Valdivia Diego, and other young Americans detail their experiences with voting and share their thoughts on the low youth voter turnout. The difficulties of navigating voting for first-time voters can often act as a larger barrier holding young people back from voting than apathy toward politics. Waad Husein, a 27-year-old user experience designer feels that “it might be about feeling helpless or defeated in tough situations and maybe also a lack of trust in people of power,” rather than a lack of political interest. 

The youth’s trust in American institutions continues to decrease. The Harvard Public Opinion Political Youth Poll noted that trust in the American presidency declined by 18% while trust in the Supreme Court declined by 9%. The decline falls as high-profile decisions such as the overturning of Roe v Wade have taken place as well as the ongoing conflict in Gaza. 

Analyzing Youth Voter Turnout by Demographic

Within young Americans between the ages of 18 and 29, identifiers like race, gender, sexual orientation, age, and state of residence impact voting participation. The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tufts University breaks down youth voter turnout by demographic from across 40 states. Their estimates following the 2022 midterm elections examine how participation and ballots vary across demographics. 

While Michigan (36.5%), Minnesota (35.5%), Maine (35.8%), Oregon (35.5%), and Colorado (33.1%) held the highest youth voter participation with over 30% casting a ballot in the midterm elections. Oklahoma (15.3%), Alabama (14.7%), Indiana (14.6%), West Virginia (14.2%), and Tennessee (12.7%) held the lowest youth turnouts, all falling below 16%. While the highest turnout of 36.5% in Michigan is low, 39 out of 40 states recorded have had an upward trend in participation since 2014. State-by-state election policies likely impact voter turnout. Many of the states with high youth turnout have policies that ease the process of voting like automatic and same-day registration while those with low turnout place restrictions like voter ID laws on eligable voters. 

Similar to the major gaps between states in youth voter turnout, racial and ethnic divides are prevalent in data from the 2022 midterm elections. While 21% of Asian and 29% of White youth casted a ballot, 15% of black and 14% of Hispanic and Latino youth voted. Voters and non-voters in each racial group ranked issues on the ballot with different importance and named different barriers that they felt held them back from voting. However, a majority of individuals in all racial groups demonstrated an interest in politics. 

63% of young Asian American non-voters and 24% of Latino American non-voters named a lack of time as a barrier. Asian American youth were also more likely to consider themselves unqualified to participate in voting. On the other hand, 1 in 4 young white non-voters and 1 in 5 young black non-voters said that they did not cast a ballot due to the lack of information. Naming a lack of time as a barrier in voting may reflect a lack of information on the voting process and registration while reporting a lack of information implies a lack of education on the issues on the ballot. Across all racial groups, young women had higher voting turnouts than their male counterparts. 

Education is another large factor impacting youth voting turnout. Young people not enrolled in colleges have one less avenue in which to gain information about issues on the ballot and how to cast one. Despite making up 40% of the population of youth from ages 18 to 29, those with no college education only 12% casted a ballot in the 2022 election. The lack of outreach toward young people with no college education likely influences the disproportionate representation of non-college-educated youth. 

Understanding the Gap between young voters and older voters

While looking at the low youth voter turnout it is important to recognize that although general voter turnout is low, the percentage of youth voters is disproportionate to that of other age groups. In the Pew Research Center's study on voters by demographic across 4 elections, midterm and presidential, young voters between the ages of 18 and 29 voted much less on average than their older counterparts. 

The age group of 18-29 made up 14.5% less of voters across 6 years than those aged 30-49 years old despite holding a slightly smaller percentage of the eligible voting population. This gap decreases by 3.5% on average from the age group of 30-49 year olds and those aged 50-64 years old and only 2% on average from 50-64 year olds and those older than 65 years old. The eligible youth voter population is significantly higher than that of individuals above the age of 50, highlighting the clear disparity impacting young voters. The lack of education, resources, and confidence that young voters hold while entering the voting process prevents young Americans from fostering systemic change that will impact their future. 

References

Alexander, Dave. “Why young people don't vote, and why 2020 might be different.” JHU Hub, 20 October 2020, https://hub.jhu.edu/2020/10/20/mobilizing-youth-voters-scott-warren/. Accessed 18 July 2024.

Sher, Mehr. “The power of young voters: shaping North Carolina's political landscape.” Carolina Public Press, 21 June 2023, https://carolinapublicpress.org/60525/the-power-of-young-voters-shaping-north-carolinas-political-landscape/. Accessed 18 July 2024.

Tufts Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement. Young Voters by Race/Ethnicity. October 2023. Tufts Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, https://circle.tufts.edu/sites/default/files/2023-10/young_voters_race_ethnicity.pdf.

Wang, Lea. “Declining Youth Trust in American Institutions Shows No Signs of Stopping.” Harvard Political Review, 2024. Harvard Political Review, https://harvardpolitics.com/declining-youth-trust-in-american-institutions-shows-no-signs-of-stopping/.

“The Youth Vote in 2022 | CIRCLE.” Circle at Tufts, https://circle.tufts.edu/2022-election-center. Accessed 18 July 2024.

Pew Research Center. Republican Gains in 2022 Midterms Driven Mostly by Turnout Advantage. 2023. Pew Research Center, https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2023/07/12/republican-gains-in-2022-midterms-driven-mostly-by-turnout-advantage/.