“The earlier that a young person is engaged in civic life in some way, the more likely that they are to engage in the long term,” said Abby Kiesa, deputy director of CIRCLE.

A 2016 research study by the Tufts University’s Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning found that 20 percent of “youth with college experience cited a lack of transportation as a reason for not voting.

In Georgia, youth voters made up 20 percent of all ballots cast in the general election, according to the data from CIRCLE.

"As a country, we can do so much more to support young people to participate in democracy more than we do," said Abby Kiesa, the research center's director of impact.

This was the second election with millennials projected to break turnout records, and the generation that is approximately ages 25 to 40 today is well positioned to have a significant impact on policymaking in the near future and for years to come, said Abby Kiesa, deputy director at CIRCLE.

New data released Tuesday by Tufts University's Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement found that nearly three times as many people ages 18 to 24 said in late 2020 that they have donated to a political campaign or registered others to vote, as compared to 2018.

Young people, particularly voters of color, were "crucial to Biden winning Arizona, Georgia, Michigan and Pennsylvania, according to Tufts University’s Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement."

“It is clear that a culture and expectation of political participation has started to emerge among young people that includes being engaged on issues, registering to vote, voting and encouraging others to do so, ” said Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, director of CIRCLE.

“There are a lot of encouraging signs when it comes to sort of repeating the energy that we saw in November in January … ,” said Kristian Lundberg, an associate researcher at CIRCLE.

“As they were in the 2018 and 2020 general elections in the state, youth of color are a major force in the Georgia electorate. There are over 500,000 Black 18- to 29-year-olds registered to vote as of December 17 … currently, the highest number of Black youth registered to vote in any state for which we have data.”

TikTok has provided a space for younger voters to discuss the issues of youth-led movements that have cropped up in recent years, including around gun control, climate change and Black Lives Matter, said Kristian Lundberg, associate researcher at CIRCLE.

Nearly 90% of young Black voters cast their ballots for Ossoff in the general election, according to CIRCLE. And more than half-a-million Black voters under 30 years old are registered in the state – that’s one-third of all young voters in the state, according to the organization.