Barriers and Hardships: Why Some Youth Didn’t Vote in 2024

According to CIRCLE estimates, young people’s electoral participation dropped slightly in 2024. Nearly half of young people (47%), ages 18-29, cast a ballot in the 2024 presidential election, down from 2020’s historic 50% youth voter turnout rate. 

Our analysis of our post-election survey data pointed to several reasons why some youth didn’t participate in the election. While a significant percentage of young people said they didn’t vote because they didn't think it was important or didn’t like the candidates, a majority of youth faced other barriers, like lacking the necessary information or support to vote. Some of these barriers were especially prevalent among young Black and Latino voters, who had the lowest youth voter turnout in 2024 and noticeable declines in participation when compared to 2020.

Barriers to voting are a key focus of CIRCLE’s work. We have previously studied the differences in barriers to voting by race and education, as well as issued recommendations for increasing youth voter turnout among underrepresented groups. 

In this new analysis, we highlight how those barriers shaped participation in the 2024 election, in an attempt to understand the voting experience of various youth and how to support them in future elections.

Lack of Time and Information Remain Serious Barriers to Voting

When we asked young people who did not vote in 2024 about the main reason they didn’t cast a ballot, 24% said they didn’t like the candidates and 20% said voting was not important to them. Meanwhile, 17% said that they were either too busy, had other commitments, or had issues like lack of childcare prevent them from voting; 14% said that they did not have enough information—either about how to vote or about the candidates.

U.S. Census data from the Current Population Survey’s Voting and Registration supplement also supports the finding that issues like lack of time and registration problems are still barriers to voting. More than a quarter of youth (ages 18-29) who didn’t cast a ballot in 2024 said they were too busy or had time conflicts. Eighteen percent of youth said they were out of town or had problems registering, which suggests that support for both voter registration and absentee voting was lacking for many. In addition, 23% of youth who weren’t registered said they didn’t meet the deadline or did not know where or how to register.

Notably, the youngest eligible voters were more likely to face these logistical barriers than older adults, underscoring that issues related to the voting process can be especially challenging for those who are newer to elections and often registering or voting for the first time.

Race, Education, and Income Shape Voting Barriers

Not all youth experience these barriers to the same extent. According to our post-election poll, compared to white youth (10%), young people of color (17%) were more likely to say that they didn’t vote because they didn’t have enough information about the process or the candidates. While only 3% of youth with college experience said they didn’t vote because of a lack of transportation, 8% of youth without college experience said that was a barrier for them.

On the other hand, youth with college experience were twice as likely (16% vs. 8%) to say they didn’t vote because of problems with absentee ballots or in-person voting, and unregistered youth with college experience were much more likely than their non-college peers to cite problems with voter registration applications. 

While, in many ways, youth on college campuses have higher access to information and support for participating in elections, they may also be more likely to face challenges related to reregistration requirements when they move or requesting/receiving mail-in ballots if they vote in their home state.

Young people’s economic situations can also pose challenges to participation. Among youth who said they didn’t register to vote because they were too busy or missed the deadline, 29% said they also often struggle to meet basic financial needs, compared to 14% of youth overall. Among youth who didn’t vote, those who are struggling financially were also more likely to cite lack of information about the voting process or problems with in-person voting as barriers. These young people may need additional support to overcome constraints imposed by their socioeconomic situation.

When young people do get support, including but not limited to information about the voting process, it works. Among youth who did not vote and who said they had seen little or no information about voter registration, 13% said that lack of information was the main reason they did not cast a ballot. However, among youth who say they saw ‘some’ or ‘a lot’ of information, only 2% cited lack of information as their reason for not voting.

Similarly, among youth who voted in 2024, only 15% said they saw little or no information about registering to vote. Among youth who didn’t vote, nearly half (48%) had seen little or no information about registration.

These findings may seem self-evident, but they underscore that providing civic information about the electoral process to young voters remains a key tool for ensuring they feel informed enough to participate.

Voting Methods Also Point to Inequities in Access

Like all voters, young people are now utilizing a variety of methods to participate in elections. According to our poll, 37% of youth who voted in 2024 cast their ballot in person on Election Day, 25% did so in person during the early voting period, 28% mailed in their ballot, and 10% dropped off their ballot at a drop box or other designated location. 

That means as many young people are now using a vote-by-mail option as they are voting on Election Day, and makes equity in ease and access to these options a key factor in young people’s voter participation.

Our data on differences in voting methods also highlights differences that could be addressed through more information, support, and facilitative election policies that make voting less of a challenge. For example, Black youth were the least likely to use an absentee ballot option: just 25% mailed in their ballot or dropped it off. We have previously highlighted that much of that may be due to the fact that many Southern states with higher Black populations are less likely to have policies like no-excuse absentee voting. 

As with the reasons for not registering or voting, we also see differences by education and financial situation. Forty-one percent of youth with college experience voted by mailing or dropping off their ballot, compared to 30% of youth without college experience. Similarly, 26% of youth who say they often struggle to make ends meet used an absentee ballot option, compared to over 40% of youth who say they’re financially stable or better.

Addressing Both Motivational and Structural Barriers

Many young people don’t like what they’re seeing from American politics and did not vote in 2024 because they did not like the candidates or believe it was important. These motivational barriers to voting must be addressed to ensure young people’s full participation in our democracy. However, youth also continue to face structural barriers to voting: lack of information and support, difficulties with forms and deadlines, and lack of access to voting methods like absentee ballots that can make it easier to participate. For youth who are struggling financially, those barriers can be even more acute.

These challenges, and the ways they manifest for youth with different backgrounds and experiences, require varied efforts to address them. These include increasing access to political homes where youth can learn about elections and get support; expanding facilitative election laws like automatic voter registration and no-excuse absentee voting, and improving civic education, giving youth foundational knowledge about the voting process and its importance. These and other recommendations in CIRCLE’s Growing Voters framework can guide multifaceted efforts to reduce barriers and connect youth to democracy.