49 Million Young People Will Be Eligible to Vote in the 2026 Midterms

Nearly 50 million young people, ages 18-29, will be eligible to vote in the 2026 midterm elections, according to an analysis of demographic data conducted by CIRCLE. By November, close to 8.5 million youth will have aged into the electorate since the 2024 presidential election. They join the 41 million voting-age members of Gen Z who were eligible to cast ballots in 2024, when they were ages 18-27. Gen Z now makes up the entire 18-29 age cohort.

Young voters have the potential to influence election results and make their voices heard in our democracy. Gen Z has voted at higher rates than previous generations did when they were the same age and have grown into a major political force beyond electoral politics, creating and leading movements grounded in social change. At the same time, they are facing an increasingly complex political landscape, including potential changes to the electoral process and last-minute redistricting following the Supreme Court decision on the Voting Rights Act. With the 2026 midterms rapidly approaching, young people will need focused and sustained support from organizations and political parties to navigate these changes and challenges. 

A Racially Diverse Electorate

About 47% of the 49 million young people who will be eligible to vote in 2026 are youth of color, including approximately 10.8 million Latino youth, 6.6 million Black youth, 2.6 million multiracial youth, and 2.2 million Asian youth. This highly diverse generation includes young people with varied identities and experiences that shape their political attitudes and engagement.

Among the newly eligible voters who just aged into the electorate (ages 18-19 in 2026), young people of color make up a slightly higher share: 48%. There are many opportunities to expand the electorate by engaging this newly eligible group, but also challenges to building a more representative democracy. Youth of color have historically voted at lower rates: in 2024, white youth had the highest youth voter turnout (55%), followed by Asian (43%), Black (34%), and Latino (32%) youth, respectively. In 2022, the most recent midterm election, 29% of white youth, 21% of Asian youth, 15% of Black youth, and 14% of Latino youth voted.

Our 2026 pre-election poll, conducted with When We All Vote, specifically oversampled Black and Latino youth in order to better understand their nuanced needs that can sometimes be overlooked, including voting barriers like lack of information. These barriers to participation affect all young voters, but the historic marginalization and chronic underinvestment in youth from certain communities requires sustained support that can lead to consistent electoral engagement.

Newly eligible voters also require stronger outreach. Youth ages 18-19 consistently vote at lower rates than their older peers: in 2022, 18% of 18- and 19-year-olds voted in the midterms, compared to 24% of youth ages 20-29.

Addressing these differences and inequities will require concerted efforts to reach and engage young people across age groups, race/ethnicity, rurality, and other factors.

Half of Youth Have No College Experience

The 2026 youth electorate is also diverse when it comes to college experience. Forty-eight percent of eligible young voters in 2026 have college experience, while 51% do not. (These numbers do not add up to 100% due to rounding.) As we have previously reported, youth without college experience have less access to political information, and appear to have lower access to the kinds of support and resources that lead to consistent civic engagement. That historically leads to lower turnout among “non-college” youth.

Organizations and individuals that want to support the newest eligible voters and other youth should look to support all young voters, including those who may not be choosing college as a path. 

Throughout this election cycle, CIRCLE will release additional findings from our pre-election poll that will provide insights on how to support youth electoral participation and engagement surrounding the issues they care about the most. We will also publish the 2026 Youth Electoral Significance Index (YESI), which will showcase where young people have the most potential to make an impact in the midterm election results. While that ranking will focus on highly competitive races, young people across the country need support so they continue to show up as they grow into the electorate.

Source: Data on the demographic composition of the youth electorate is based on IPUMS USA data: Steven Ruggles, Sarah Flood, Matthew Sobek, Daniel Backman, Grace Cooper, Julia A. Rivera Drew, Stephanie Richards, Renae Rodgers, Jonathan Schroeder, and Kari C.W. Williams. IPUMS USA: Version 16.0 [dataset]. Minneapolis, MN: IPUMS, 2025. https://doi.org/10.18128/D010.V16.0