2020 Youth Poll
Our comprehensive survey of young people highlights their interest in the election but potential challenges to voting during a pandemic.
Poll: Young People Believe they Can Lead Change
Young Americans are in the streets fighting for causes they believe in, paying attention to the election, and ready to make their voices heard for the candidates and issues they care about. But will they be ready to register and vote in an election held in the shadow of COVID-19?
Top 10 Races
CIRCLE's exclusive rankings of where youth may swing elections can help inform strategies, investment, and outreach.
2020 Youth Electoral Significance Index
Young people can be a powerful force at the ballot box. Our Youth Electoral Significance Index (YESI) ranks the top 10 states and districts where the youth vote has the highest potential to swing the presidential, Senate, and House elections this November.
Youth Data Tool
CIRCLE's exclusive online tool includes more than 40 indicators at the national, state, district, and county levels.
Youth Voting and Civic Engagement in America
To what extent are young people across the country participating in civic and political life, and what are the community conditions that help, hinder, and shape that engagement? Our comprehensive data tool allows you to better understand the landscape of youth civic engagement so you can help improve it.
Racial Justice
We stand with communities affected by violence and reaffirm our commitment to supporting all youth's equitable engagement in civic life.
Statement and Readings on Anti-Blackness
The CIRCLE team condemns violence and brutality against Black communities. We are redoubling our efforts to support Black youth, support our African-American colleagues in the field, and advance racial equity and justice. Explore how we're thinking about these issues and what's informing our work.
2020 Election
In the voting booth and beyond, young people are poised to shape the 2020 elections.
Impact at the Ballot Box
Our comprehensive research on the impact of young voters in 2020 is tracking their participation in primaries, their support of presidential candidates, and their views on the state of American democracy.
Latest Research
Absentee and Early Voting by Youth in the 2020 Election
In key states, including electoral battlegrounds, more than 500,000 young people have already voted in 2020.
Rural Youth Could Have Crucial Impact on Key 2020 Elections
In half of the states ranked in the top 10 of our Youth Electoral Significance Index, at least a third of the population lives in rural areas.
Black Youth Have Less Experience With and Information About Voting by Mail
Less than 10% of young Black voters cast ballots by mail in 2016, and Black youth in our survey were more likely to say they had not seen information on mail-in voting.
Opaque Landscape of Felony Disenfranchisement Laws Poses Challenge for Young Voters
According to our survey, more than half of young people could not correctly identify whether someone with a felony conviction can vote in their state, and even more erroneously believe those with misdemeanors can't vote.
YESI Spotlight: Youth Electoral Impact in Georgia
Both Georgia Senate races, two House races, and the presidential race in the state are in our top-10 rankings of elections where youth can influence results.
Home Page Take Action
28%
of young people voted in 2018, the highest midterm turnout in decades. It's not high enough.
Use Our Work to Inform Yours
Everyone has a role to play in the effort to promote greater and more equitable youth civic engagement. Whether you're an educator, policymaker, journalist, organizational leader, or a young person yourself, use our research to identify where you can make a difference and to drive conversations and initiatives in your community.
28%
of young people voted in 2018, the highest midterm turnout in decades. It's not high enough.
Take Action
Use Our Work to Inform Yours
Everyone has a role to play in the effort to promote greater and more equitable youth civic engagement. Whether you're an educator, policymaker, journalist, organizational leader, or a young person yourself, use our research to identify where you can make a difference and to drive conversations and initiatives in your community.Home Page Take Action
28%
of young people voted in 2018, the highest midterm turnout in decades. It's not high enough.
Use Our Work to Inform Yours
Everyone has a role to play in the effort to promote greater and more equitable youth civic engagement. Whether you're an educator, policymaker, journalist, organizational leader, or a young person yourself, use our research to identify where you can make a difference and to drive conversations and initiatives in your community.
CIRCLE in the News
Complicated Election Rules in the U.S. Are a Form of Voter Suppression
Teen Vogue
Our data on the barriers some youth face when trying to register and vote informs this important piece on voting laws in the United States.
Politics Belongs in the Classroom
Education Week
This piece cites CIRCLE research on best practices for a strong, comprehensive, and equitable civic education.
The rise of Gen Z could foretell the fall of Trumpism
POLITICO
This major feature on Gen Z's political participation cites CIRCLE data on youth activism and on the issues that matter most to young people.