Youth Voting/Political Participation
This series of research products addresses: youth voting trends, recent Presidential & midterm primaries, caucuses and elections, voting laws, what works in getting out the vote (GOTV), and local political parties and youth.
RSSYouth Voting/Political Participation
Immigration and the 2012 Election
A new CIRCLE fact sheet uses post-election youth polling to examine young people’s views of immigration reform and how youth with recent immigrant backgrounds participated in the 2012 election. Only a relatively small portion of young Americans rated immigration as their top issue in the 2012 election, yet those young people overwhelmingly favored creating paths Read More >
High School Civic Education Linked to Voting Participation and Political Knowledge, No Effect on Partisanship or Candidate Selection
Most Young Voters Knew the Candidates’ Issue Positions MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MA – A large, national survey of young Americans released today shows that most young adults who voted in 2012 could choose an issue that was important to them and knew where the candidates stood on at least one (of two) relevant policies. Young Obama and Read More >
Distinguished, Nonpartisan Commission Announced to Study and Inform Policies on Youth Voting
Commission on Youth Voting & Civic Knowledge Focused on “Wide Range” of Influences, Including State Voting Laws, Civic Education Policies Tisch College, Tufts University, Medford/Somerville, MA—CIRCLE, Tufts University’s premiere center for the study of youth engagement, announced this morning the formation of the distinguished, nonpartisan and scholarly, Commission on Youth Voting & Civic Knowledge, which Read More >
Did Civic Education Laws Affect Youth Turnout in 2012?
One of the ways that states may try to influence political engagement is by requiring civic education in their K-12 schools. Substantial evidence shows that high-quality civic education boosts students’ interest in politics, their knowledge of political issues, and their voter turnout after they turn 18. But it is less clear that the existing state Read More >
Did New State Voting Laws Affect the Youth Vote in 2012?
The 2012 election was marked by new legislation that could make voting more difficult—a total of 25 new laws were in effect on Election Day in 19 states—and by organized challenges to the new laws, which we call “pushback.” The Brennan Center for Social Justice reports that, since the beginning of 2011, a total of Read More >



