In the News

Survey results from the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University confirm the benefits of civic engagement. Specifically, about 70% of student election judges learned “a great deal” about the voting process.

A new report from researchers at the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tufts University finds that the problem may not lie with young voters themselves... the civic education and engagement we expect to solve access issues can actually reinforce inequalities and influence who shows up at the polls.

According to CIRCLE’s data analysis, “many young people have not been taught about elections and voting; both the practicalities of registering and casting a ballot and the reasons why their voices and votes matter in democracy."

“I think the hope is that by putting civics in a broader assessment framework, it will get the attention and care that it deserves from the education community,” said CIRCLE Senior Researcher Kelly Siegel-Stechler.

CIRCLE research shows that Black and Latino young people created more content about the 2020 election and social issues in 2020 than their white and Asian counterparts.

“In places like Pennsylvania and Georgia and Arizona, we see that the strength of support from young people of color, in particular, can be enormously powerful on the state level,” said CIRCLE Deputy Director Abby Kiesa

Youth voter participation is generally trending upward, with 50% of young people ages 18-29 voting in the 2020 presidential election. That was likely one of the highest rates of youth electoral participation since the voting age was lowered to 18," according to CIRCLE.

Twenty seven percent, compared with 5% in 2016, of young adults indicated that they had participated in street protests, and more than half responded that they had actively worked to encourage their peers to vote. Eighty three percent said that they believe young people have the power to change the country.

Young voters overwhelmingly cited climate change as one of their three top issues, said CIRCLE Deputy Director Abby Kiesa. And those who prioritized it exhibited what she called a “high civic readiness” — a likelihood to be involved in local and national organizations.