A close look at the reasons why some youth didn’t register, or registered but didn’t vote, suggests needed improvements in electoral administration and outreach.
Campaign contact, digital outreach, young people engaging their peers, and action on racial justice all contributed to higher youth voter turnout.
Youth electoral participation in 2020 was high and could be even higher if we support young people, who have varied priorities for the new administration.
Young people report benefits of participating in political activism on social media, but not all youth engage and benefit equally.
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.
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 almost half believe those with misdemeanors can't vote, which is not true anywhere.
Young women of color overwhelmingly disapprove of President Trump, but most disapprove of Joe Biden too even as they plan to vote for him.
Our research is informing the digital giant's efforts to use its platform for youth voter education and registration.
Young Asian Americans have historically voted at lower rates, but our polling reveals signs of increasing civic participation
With past margins extremely close, a potentially influential percentage of previous Trump/GOP young voters have moved away from the President.