Youth Engagement in Politics

Historical Context

The 19th century saw massive youth engagement in politics and high voter turnout in the United States. Between 1830 and 1900, voter turnout exceeded 80%. This was driven by the popularity of youth political organizations and the heavy grassroots recruiting of young people undertaken by the political parties at the time. After 1900, youth engagement dropped sharply because public school attendance increased and parties stopped youth recruitment.

Following a period of inactivity, the 1960s saw a rapid increase in youth engagement in politics, particularly through protesting and organizing in an effort to end racial inequality and stop the increasingly unpopular war in Vietnam. Increased scrutiny over the minimum voting age, which at the time would allow someone to be drafted for the Vietnam War while simultaneously being too young to vote, led to the ratification of the 26th Amendment in 1971, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18. This amendment increased youth turnout in the 1972 presidential election, hitting 55.4%. This contrasts sharply with the 1996 turnout of only 37%.

Recent Elections

Given rising tensions and political polarization in the United States in recent elections, youth turnout has steadily increased, particularly during presidential elections.

2016 Presidential Election: Youth voter turnout was approximately 39%, driven primarily by figures like Bernie Sanders, whose policies connected with many younger voters. However, youth turnout was still lower than older age brackets.
2020 Presidential Election: Youth turnout in this election reached an all-time high, sitting around 50%-57% depending on the exact youth bracket. This was driven by many high-profile social and political movements, amplified via social media.
2024 Presidential Election: Following the record-setting 2020 election, youth turnout settled at around 47% in 2024. In terms of gender, roughly 50% of young women voted, compared to 41% of young men.
2026 Midterms: While actual youth turnout can only be calculated following the end of the elections, many polls show that youth turnout for the 2026 midterms is expected to be slightly lower than that of 2018 or 2022. A recent poll from Harvard found approximately 33% of youth voters stating an intention to vote in 2026, as opposed to the slightly higher 40% in 2018 and 2022. Whether or not these polls are accurate remains to be seen.

Increasing Youth Engagement

Increasing youth engagement in politics has been one of the primary goals for all major political parties in the United States. They have theorized and implemented a multitude of strategies in order to achieve this, with varying levels of success.

Youth Poll Programs: Encourage teens in high school to work at polling locations to foster early interests in politics.
Youth Advisory Boards: Appoint young people to school boards and planning committees to give them real decision-making power as opposed to symbolic positions.
Paid Civic Work: Moving from unpaid volunteer civic work to real paying positions featuring stipends or hourly pay.
Issue Mobilization: Engage the youth through issues that matter most to them, such as LGBTQ+ Rights, Housing Affordability, and Healthcare Access.
Social Media: Perhaps the most powerful tool in modern politics for youth engagement. Young people overwhelmingly get their news from social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter, as opposed to the more mainstream news websites and television.

Future Outlook

Looking ahead to future elections, the youth vote remains highly volatile and critically important. The youth of today are perhaps the most well-informed and politically connected generation in history, with wide access to information and the ability to connect with people across the world to advance political goals. With this access often comes drastic shifts in party alignment; therefore, any organization that hopes to earn and maintain the support of the younger generation must do so through an ongoing campaign of voter awareness, issue mobilization, and a large social media presence. Today’s generation of younger voters expects authenticity and alignment on key issues as opposed to the partisan loyalty that traditionally drove political participation.

Citations

53rd Edition – Fall 2026. 53rd Edition – Fall 2026 | The Institute of Politics at Harvard University. (n.d.). https://iop.harvard.edu/youth-poll/53rd-edition-fall-2026

Yun, H.-Y., & Graham, S. (2024, December 7). What factors influenced young adults to vote in the 2020 presidential election?. Journal of Social Studies Research. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13141813/

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Political Awareness

2016 Presidential Election: Youth voter turnout was approximately 39%, driven primarily by figures like Bernie Sanders, whose policies connected with many younger voters. However, youth turnout was still lower than older age brackets.

2020 Presidential Election: Youth turnout in this election reached an all-time high, sitting around 50%-57% depending on the exact youth bracket. This was driven by many high-profile social and political movements, amplified via social media.

2024 Presidential Election: Following the record-setting 2020 election, youth turnout settled at around 47% in 2024. In terms of gender, roughly 50% of young women voted, compared to 41% of young men.

Youth Poll Programs: Encourage teens in high school to work at polling locations to foster early interests in politics.

Youth Advisory Boards: Appoint young people to school boards and planning committees to give them real decision-making power as opposed to symbolic positions.

Paid Civic Work: Moving from unpaid volunteer civic work to real paying positions featuring stipends or hourly pay.

Issue Mobilization: Engage the youth through issues that matter most to them, such as LGBTQ+ Rights, Housing Affordability, and Healthcare Access.

Social Media: Perhaps the most powerful tool in modern politics for youth engagement. Young people overwhelmingly get their news from social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter, as opposed to the more mainstream news websites and television.