CIRCLE research has highlighted the value of youth poll worker programs and shown that young people who get involved in hands-on civic participation are more likely to be lifelong voters.

“It's the kind of expertise the school board needs to be able to make decisions together with young people that actually reflect student views, experience and opinions,” said our director Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg

CIRCLE Deputy Director Abby Kiesa speaks about young people's civic and political engagement, gaps in youth outreach, and what it's going to take to ensure all youth have the information and access they need to vote.

A recent survey from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement showed that only 11 percent of people under 30 listed immigration as one of their “top 3 concerns.”

CIRCLE Director Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg comments on young people's political power, which extends beyond voting to holding elected leaders accountable on issues they care about.

Gen Z’s actions indicate “that they really want to have a role and say in making change in their communities and in this country,” said Abby Kiesa, CIRCLE’s deputy director.

This generation also appears to be more civically engaged. In a poll CIRCLE took before the 2020 election, 27 percent of young people aged 18 to 24 said they had attended a march or protest, up from 5 percent in pre-election 2016.

CIRCLE reported this month that even though people ages 18 to 29 who can vote tend to identify less with political parties than other age brackets, young adults who do select a party tend to affiliate with Democrats.

According to Abby Kiesa, deputy director of CIRCLE, a major factor in the increase has been the work of organizations that arose after 2014 to try to improve campus voting rates.

CIRCLE Director Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg says it really matters for people to hear their peers advocating for voting. “Young people who think their peers are voting are far more likely to think they’ll also vote.”

CIRCLE's postdoctoral researcher Sara Suzuki talks about the role of climate activism, its importance to young people as an issue, and its potential impact on the 2022 midterm elections.

A recent report from CIRCLE detailed that nearly half of states already have more young people 18 to 24 registered to vote than they did in November 2018.