“We Have the Least Amount of Agency in Our Future, but the Most Future to Live”: Youth Share their Distrust of Democracy

Trust in the current political system is essential to a functioning multiracial democracy. Research shows that trust is incredibly important to the resilience of a governing system (Merkel); similarly, a lack of trust during changes within a democratic system has been cited as a key precursor to the rise of authoritarianism (Bar-Tal). However, according to our 2024 post-election poll and highlighted in our report written in partnership with Project Democracy, only 36% of youth (ages 18-29) agree or strongly agree that U.S. democracy today can address the issues the country is facing. Even fewer youth, 16%, agree or strongly agree that democracy today is working well for young people, while 50% disagree. These responses highlight the crisis of a lack of trust in the democratic system in the United States.

The proportions of youth who agree or disagree that democracy is working well for young people differ across demographic lines. Across race/ethnicity, Asian youth (23%) have the highest trust in democracy (defined as agree or strongly agree with the statement: “The way democracy is in the United States right now is working well for young people”) followed by White youth (16%), Latino youth (16%), and Black youth (14%). College-educated youth also have a slightly higher rate of agreement (17%) than non-college-educated youth (15%). This illustrates how democracy can work and be perceived differently by youth of different identities and with different experiences. Nonetheless, the differences between all groups are small, and all have low levels of trust in democracy, which highlights a broad problem for young people across the board.

There is also some disparity across gender lines: 19% of men say they trust the democratic system, compared to 14% of women. Higher rates of agreement among men could be indicative of the larger levels of conservative alignment, as approval of the way democracy is working for young people was also associated with identifying as a Republican.

In fact, Republican youth had the highest level of agreement that democracy is working well for young people: 25% compared to 12% of Democratic youth. We should note that this data was collected immediately after the 2024 election, which resulted in the election of a Republican president and may have led to more positive feelings about democracy among GOP youth. This suggests that those who feel like their political beliefs are well represented are more likely to agree that democracy is working well for young people. That said, even among Republican youth who may have been pleased with President Trump’s victory, only 1 in 4 expressed trust in democracy, again underscoring that this is a widespread issue.

Marginalized Youth More Ambivalent about Democracy

While looking at what young people agree or strongly agree with the sentiment that “democracy is working well for young people” paints one picture, looking at the young people who said they “neither agree nor disagree” tells a more complicated story. Black and Latino youth seem to be the most unsure or ambivalent about whether democracy is working, with 40% and 39%, respectively, selecting that they neither agree nor disagree, compared to 34% of all youth.

This trend is consistent across other traditionally marginalized, disadvantaged, or underserved groups. Rural youth (42%) are more likely to be ambivalent or unsure about democracy, compared to urban and suburban youth (both 31% and 32%, respectively). Likewise, financially struggling youth (38%) are more ambivalent or unsure than financially stable youth (31%); youth without college experience (42%) are more unsure than college educated youth (28%), and youth who didn’t vote in 2024 (48%) are more unsure compared to those that did cast a ballot (30%).

This data is in line with other findings about groups like rural youth, non-college youth, and youth of color who have less access to information and support for civic participation. “Protecting democracy” has historically not been a high-priority issue for youth, especially for marginalized young people who may have other immediate priorities related to their daily lives and livelihood, such as cost of living. Furthermore, these same youth systemically lack access to a strong civic education.

Understanding these trends in democratic attitudes is critical for organizations and civic leaders who are trying to reach and engage these marginalized communities—which tend to vote at lower rates due to structural inequities. The data suggests that messaging about threats to democracy may not be the most effective way to engage marginalized youth, and that these young people may need more information about how threats to democracy intersect with their more immediate issue concerns.

Why Do Youth Trust (Or Distrust) Democracy?

To better understand young people’s views on democracy, we also asked an open-ended question, asking, “Tell us why you think democracy in the United States is (not) working well for young people.” By coding their responses, we identified key themes, highlighted below with the addition of young people’s voices. 

Among the 16% youth who did believe democracy was working well, 26% attributed their view to an appreciation for access to voting, saying things like “[young people] have as much right to vote and be politically active as anyone else.” Seventeen percent had a general trust in the democratic system, e.g., “young people have a powerful voice in the democratic process,” and 10% felt they enjoyed freedom of speech, with one respondent saying, “we're still able to cast votes and have free speech.” Furthermore, 9% feel efficacy in shaping their future, 8% have high levels of hope, and 6% like the current political parties. CIRCLE research has documented unequal levels of access, institutional trust, efficacy, and alignment with political parties among different groups of youth, which may contribute to those groups’ trust or distrust of democracy.

By contrast, among the half of youth who do not think democracy is working well for young people, 21% mentioned a lack of youth representation in politics. For example, one respondent said: “[we] have the least amount of agency in [our] future, but the most future to live.” Seventeen percent mentioned concerns about the economy, saying that “young people have no wealth” and connecting those financial struggles to democratic disengagement. Furthermore,7% cited their dislike of current political parties, saying “two-party systems don't allow for nuance and choice.” Another 7% mentioned major concerns about its future, with one respondent going as far as to say, “I fear that democracy will be crushed and gone.”

It’s notable that a lack of youth representation is by far the biggest factor in young people’s satisfaction with American politics, since it suggests that young people want their generation to have opportunities to shape democracy. As CIRCLE research has highlighted, young people are still vastly underrepresented in elected office. Perspectives from young people themselves, like those expressed in our Youth Expertise Series, underscore that when youth are not represented in local government, they may perceive that government is not made for them, which can lead to distrust and disengagement.

Representation is also important for youth because they tend to trust their peers far more than national institutions like political parties. When those peers have roles in those institutions, there can be both opportunities for more engagement and for building trust. At the same time, CIRCLE research demonstrates that youth often want to take civic action but lack the opportunities and support to do so. Youth overall do not feel qualified to take civic action, or if they do, they feel like they lack the opportunity. While supportive older adults can provide opportunities and encouragement, that support may be even stronger coming from other young people. Oftentimes, youth can find these opportunities through communities called political homes, which provide a space for sociopolitical belonging and build efficacy in young people.

On the other hand, recent CIRCLE research has tracked the significant impact of economic well-being on young people’s civic engagement. In addition to young people’s qualitative responses, this new analysis finds that young people who struggle financially are less likely to believe democracy is working well for youth (13% compared to 18% of stable and 32% of wealthy youth). We have also seen the impact on voter participation: our analysis of barriers to voting found that 62% of youth who did not vote in 2024 found it difficult to meet their basic financial needs, compared to 40% of all youth. Clearly, economic stress is high for many youth, and it seems to be higher for those who don’t have high trust in democracy and are not voting. 

Addressing Youth Distrust of Democracy

The data makes clear that only a minority of youth have a high level of trust in the democratic system and agree that it is working well for their generation. Large percentages of young people, especially marginalized or underserved youth, are ambivalent or unsure about democracy and may not be thinking about threats to democracy as a central issue. While this poll was conducted immediately after the 2024 presidential election, and the political climate has significantly shifted, we believe these findings reflect broader trends in young people’s attitudes toward democracy.

The reasons youth say they do or don’t trust democracy point toward potentially effective strategies for engaging them. While some young people do mention broad issues like figures of speech, the majority are focused on immediate concerns like their access to voting, economic well-being, and whether they see themselves represented in politics. Essentially, they are thinking about factors that are central to their lives.

These findings suggest that messaging and proposals about democracy reform may not “land” with youth or motivate them to take action if they are disconnected from young people's day-to-day lives Instead of preaching to youth about the state of American democracy, civic leaders, organizations, and communities may be better served providing opportunities for youth to participate in it first-hand, and helping youth build a strong relationship with democracy that can serve as the basis of lasting engagement and trust.