Black Youth Are Invested in their Communities but Encounter Barriers to Voting

The civic participation of Black youth in recent years has been complex, with both bright spots and challenges. For example, young Black women, alongside other young women of color, have often been at the forefront of activism and civic action. But Black youth, and especially young Black men, have voted at lower rates and remain underrepresented in the electorate.

This analysis of Black youth ages 18-34 who participated in our 2024 pre-election poll re-emphasizes that Black youth are not a monolith regarding civic engagement. They possess a wide range of motivations, ideas, and perceptions about the electoral and civic process. A better understanding of these dynamics can help us support their participation and eliminate inequities in voter turnout.

Our analysis examines civic engagement among the nearly 300 Black youth who participated in CIRCLE’s 2024 pre-election poll. For this analysis, we identify as Black any young person who chose Black as their only race in our survey or as one of the races that make up their multi-racial/ethnic identity (e.g., Black and Hispanic). We recognize that some of these youth may choose to self-identify with a term other than “Black.”

Black Youth Report Lower Likelihood to Vote

Black youth tend to vote at lower rates than other youth of the same age group. In the 2020 presidential election, which had the highest youth turnout rate in decades for all young people (50%), we estimate that 43% of Black youth cast a ballot, compared to Asian youth (47%), Latino youth (48%), and white youth (61%). In late 2023, when we conducted our survey, 44% of Black youth said they were “Extremely Likely” to vote in the 2024 Presidential election versus 60% percent of youth not identifying as Black. 

According to Census data, since the voting age was lowered to 18 in 1971, Black youth turnout has been, on average, 4.9 percentage points lower than that of white youth. Until 2020, Black youth voted at higher rates than their Asian or Latino counterparts. However, Asian youth turned out at record rates in 2020, outpacing Black youth. Notably, young Black Americans had the highest voter turnout of any racial/ethnic group in 2008 and 2012, the two previous elections with a Black presidential candidate.

It’s also important to note the differences in Black youth voter turnout by gender. While, overall, young women voted at a higher rate than young men in 2020, the gap between young Black men and young Black women was stark—the voter turnout of young Black women was 16 percentage points higher than that of young Black men. A similar gender gap exists among young Latino voters: 56% of young Latinas voted in 2020, compared to 39% of young Latino men—a 17 percentage point difference—so these inequities are not unique to Black youth.

There is also a gender gap in our survey data from late 2023: 58% of young Black men stated they were “extremely likely” or “fairly likely” to vote, compared to 66% of young Black women. This suggests that, while Black youth overall may not be getting the information and support they need to participate, barriers to voting may be most acute and deserving of special attention among young Black men.

Black Youth are Motivated to Vote by Various Issues

When asked what would motivate them to vote in the 2024 presidential election, the top reason was the same for Black youth and all other youth: “to make a difference on issues that matter to me.” Moreover, Black youth and all other youth wanted to vote “to fire politicians who are trying to harm my community” and “to make a difference in my local community” at similar rates, pointing to the important role of concern about one’s community in motivating electoral participation.

However, Black youth were much less likely to vote “to support candidates [they] believe in” compared to all other youth. While this sentiment may have shifted with the change in Democratic presidential candidate after this survey was fielded, it’s also possible that Black youth generally find themselves less inspired or motivated by their options on the ballot, which could partially explain the historically lower voter turnout rates 

Overall, data on what motivates Black youth to vote highlights the importance of connecting with Black youth on the issues that matter to them. Those top issues among Black youth were “cost of living/inflation,” “gun violence prevention,” “jobs that pay a living wage,” “fighting racism,” and “student loan debt.” Our analysis of the top issues among Black youth demonstrates that while cost of living and inflation is a top issue for them just as it is for all other youth, some issues like racism, gun violence, and student loan debt are a much higher priority for Black youth compared to other youth.

Black Youth Are Civically Engaged Beyond Voting

Black youth are also engaged in civic and political activities that promote the well-being of their community. In our survey, 15% of Black youth said they had volunteered in the past year. Slightly more than 15% had signed a petition or joined a boycott. A quarter had donated money or helped raise money for a cause, candidate, or organization. These rates are similar to the rates among other youth.

Although the rates of running for office among youth overall are much lower, we found that Black youth are much more likely to have run for office in the past year and also much more likely to say they “might do this if there is an opportunity.” Specifically, while only 1% of youth who do not identify as Black had run for office, 3% of Black youth had run within the past year, and Black youth were 8 percentage points more likely than all other youth to say they would run for office if presented with an opportunity. We also saw strong interest in running for office from Black youth in 2020 and 2022, and we encourage those interested in supporting paths to office to consider the many barriers that Black youth might face in translating their interest in running to candidacy.

Our data also shows that Black youth participate in membership groups and organizations. They were much more likely to be members of a union than youth who don’t identify as Black and also more likely to be an active member of a religious congregation or church. Black youth were more likely than other youth to be an active member of a “social or political movement” and just as likely as other youth to belong to local groups in their community. This suggests that Black youth contribute to and participate in civic spaces, some of which may act as a “political home” supporting pathways to engagement in their communities.

When it comes to some other forms of civic action, Black youth are participating at lower rates. Black youth had half the rate of contacting elected officials as other youth (6% vs. 13%). Prior CIRCLE research that investigated youth taking action on climate change found that young people may not contact those in government because they don’t know how to contact them or because they might not have the right materials to inspire them to take action. Black youth may lack access to the resources needed to build the skills and confidence needed to contact elected officials.

A Complex Relationship between Belonging and Voting

A sense of belonging to a community may be an important condition for young people to get access to information, feel supported, and be part of a culture that promotes civic engagement.

We explored the relationship between youth’s sense of belonging to their community and their intention to vote, using a measure of community belonging composed of four questions (e.g., “I feel like I belong to this community” and “In this place, there are opportunities for young people like me to contribute to this community”). We found that for youth who do not identify as Black, higher levels of community belonging were related to a greater self-reported likelihood to vote. 

However, for Black youth, we found a different pattern. Although, as we would expect, Black youth with the lowest community belonging had the lowest likelihood to vote, the reverse wasn’t true: Black youth with the highest community belonging did not have the highest likelihood to vote. In fact, it was Black youth with a moderately low level of community belonging who expressed they were, on average, “Fairly Likely” to vote, and youth with the most sense of belonging reported a lower intention to vote.

This difference between Black youth and non-Black youth in the relationship between belonging to a community and intent to vote may lend itself to several different interpretations. For one thing, we must take into account the complex history of voting within Black communities who experienced systematic disenfranchisement from this civic act throughout the history of the United States—and in many ways continue to experience disenfranchisement through voting policies, gerrymandering, and other structural barriers.

Other studies may suggest additional interpretations for our findings. Research on Black Values by the Democracy & Power Innovation Fund, which was conducted with Black eligible voters, created different clusters of their sample of Black adults based on their responses to questions about identity, values, and social trust. One cluster, called the “NextGen Traditionalists,” comprised about a fifth of the total sample and contained many Gen Z respondents, and had a low vote likelihood. However, 71% of them believed that the Black community has the power to impact change.

These may be the type of youth represented in our data who have a high sense of community belonging but a lower intention to vote. The fact that, for both Black youth and non-Black youth, participation in other (non-voting) forms of civic engagement was higher with higher levels of community belonging also suggests that dynamic may be at play here.

We believe that this finding points to important steps that need to be taken to grow voters among Black youth Black youth who are engaged in other ways of taking action and connected to their communities may need information and support that more directly connects elections to the issues that Black youth care about in their communities. That sense of empowerment and belonging could be a fruitful starting point for reaching and engaging Black youth.

It may also be that Black youth who have strong ties to their community still face systemic barriers to voting access. This can explain why greater community belonging fuels other types of civic engagement but not voting. This gap can be addressed by voting-related outreach and education from multiple community actors, including schools, community organizations, and news media. When addressing this gap, those who are invested in Black youth must think critically about how to tune in to the relationship that young Black people have to voting and the perspectives they have about the effectiveness of voting. Some Black youth have experienced the outcomes of community action but have yet to see that same potential through the electoral process. 

Conclusion

To fully support Black youth’s civic engagement, we must prioritize addressing policy and structural barriers, such as voter suppression and unequal access to resources, that disproportionately affect Black communities. At the same time, our research shows that we must also understand Black youth’s motivations for voting, their often different issue priorities, and the sometimes complex relationship between community belonging, civic action, and electoral participation. 

A comprehensive strategy to enhance pathways for Black youth engagement could draw from CIRCLE’s Growing Voters approach, which emphasizes the importance of access, support, and culture. To empower Black youth in all forms of engagement, including voting, it is essential to tailor outreach, education, and community initiatives to their specific needs, relationships, and contexts. A targeted and holistic approach can provide Black youth with the tools, opportunities, and encouragement needed to become active voters and influential agents of change in their communities and beyond.

About the Survey: The CIRCLE Pre-2024 Election Youth Survey was developed by CIRCLE at Tufts University, and the polling firm Ipsos collected the data from their nationally representative panel of respondents between October 25 and November 2, 2023. The study surveyed a total of 2,017 self-reported U.S. citizens ages 18 to 34 in the United States; unless otherwise mentioned, data are for all 18- to 34-year-olds in our sample.