QUICK FACTS

CIRCLE has condensed its many research reports and fact sheets into a series of “Quick Facts” on the following topics:

• Youth Voting
• Civic Education
• Trends by Race, Ethnicity and Gender
• Youth Demographics
• Non-college Youth
• Community Service/Volunteering

Quick Facts pages are updated when new research becomes available.

On this Page:

• What Students are Learning
• Gaps in Instruction
• How U.S. Students Perform
• Service and Learning
• Classroom Discussions
• State Policies
• Resources

What Students are Learning

In 2006, most civics courses emphasize traditional themes. From the 2006 Civic and Political Health of the Nation Report we found that students reported (41 percent) “the Constitution or the U.S. system of government and how it works” as the number one mentioned theme in civics courses. The other themes, in descending order were “wars and military battles” (32 percent), “great American heroes and the virtues of the American form of government” (26 percent), and tied for fourth place were “problems facing the country today” (11 percent) and “racism and other forms of injustice in the American system” (11 percent).

Young people who report that they recently choose to take a civics or government class are more likely than other young people to say that:

• they helped solve a community problem,
• they can make a difference in their community,
• they have volunteered recently,
• they trust other people and the government,
• they have made consumer decisions for ethical or political reasons,
• they believe in the importance of voting, and
• they are registered to vote.

Source: “U.S. Civics Instruction: Content and Teaching Strategies” and “Themes Emphasized in Social Studies and Civics Classes.”

Gaps in Instruction

• Recent data shows persistent and serious gaps in participatory activities that require civic skills between Americans adults and youth of various backgrounds. Education, income, ethnicity, and immigration status are all strong predictors of civic participation and civic skill acquisition   Our analysis of various national and federal datasets indicates that this declining national trend in some indicators of civic participation may be due, in part, to declining and unequal opportunities to build civic skills at schools, at home, and in communities and neighborhoods.

• Unfortunately, fewer public schools offer school-based service-learning opportunities now than a decade ago.  A recent study by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS, 2008) found that only 24% of schools offered formal service learning in 2008, compared to 32% in 1999.

• The consequence of unequal civic learning experiences is not only that disadvantaged students lack civic skills, but they also suffer academically. Similar to Davila and Mora (2007), our analysis of ELS data shows that youth who have civic learning opportunities 8are more likely to follow a positive academic trajectory, which can include staying in school and preparing for college.

• The opportunity to participate in community service through one’s school appears to have academic benefits.  As seen in the figures below, students who participate in community service as 10th graders are far more likely to take college entrance exams and far less likely to have dropped out of school by 12th grade.

In CIRCLE Working Paper (#51) “The Civic Achievement Gap,” Meira Levinson identifies a gap in civic achievement between students of different races and socio-economic and immigration status. Her research finds that poor, non-white students demonstrate lower levels of civic and political knowledge, skills, positive attitudes toward the state, and participation than their wealthier and white counterparts. Furthermore, a study by Joseph Kahne and Ellen Middaugh of over 2,000 California high school students finds that access to school-based opportunities to develop civic commitments and capacities are unevenly distributed: college-bound students have significantly more access to these opportunities than students not planning to attend college.

Sources: Civic Skills and Federal Policy, CIRCLE Working Paper #51: The Civic Achievement Gap and California Survey of Civic Education

Students of color and students from low-education families were the least likely to report experiencing interactive classroom learning activities such as role-playing exercises, mock trials, visits from community members, or letter writing. (from NAEP, see p 24*)

How U.S Students Perform

• About two out of three American students at grades 4, 8, and 12 have at least a basic knowledge of civics according to the 2006 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Average scores improved from 1998 to 2006 only at grade 4. Most of this improvement was seen among lower-performing students. (NAEP 2006 Civics)

• American 14-year-olds perform well in international comparisons of civic and political knowledge, but the range between the best and worst prepared students is exceptionally large in the U.S.(from IEA data, see p. 14*, see also Strengths and Weaknesses in U.S. Students’ Knowledge and Skills)

• Students perform better on tests of civic knowledge & skills if they have studied a range of subjects such as the Constitution, U.S. History, and Government. (from NAEP 1998, see p. 23*)

• 15-26-year-olds who have taken civics classes are 23 percentage points more likely to believe they are responsible for making things better for society and 14 percentage points more likely to vote than their peers who have not taken civics.

(from National Conference of State Legislatures 2003 survey)

14-year-olds who believe they can make a difference in the way their school is run are more interested in current events than other youth. (from IEA data, see p. 27*)

Source: *The Civic Mission of Schools

Service and learning

Unfortunately, fewer public schools offer school-based service-learning opportunities now than a decade ago.  A recent study by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS, 2008) found that only 24% of schools offered formal service learning in 2008, compared to 32% in 1999.

Furthermore, the CNCS study (2008) found that schools that are located in lower-income areas were significantly less likely to offer service learning than more affluent schools at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.  According to CNCS’s survey of school principals, the challenges in implementing service-learning are related to other priorities that schools have to deal with (e.g., academic requirements, standardized test scores), lack of funding and other resources, lack of professional development opportunities to learn about service-learning, and a lack of awareness about policies encouraging service-learning in schools.  The schools with lower funding and resources are more likely to face these challenges than more affluent schools.

Davila and Mora (2007) found that required community service leads to higher academic performance in reading, mathematics, science, and history. Moreover, required community service, more so than voluntary service, also increases the odds of subsequent college graduation. These positive effects vary across gender and race and ethnicity.

High schools are most likely to offer service learning; in 2004 44% of high schools offered service-learning compared to 38% of middle schools and 25% of elementary schools. (see: Service Learning in K-12 Public Education)

Ten years ago only 9% of high schools offered community service. (see: Service Learning in K-12 Public Education and p. 25*)

Sources: Civic Skills and Federal Policy, Working Paper 52: Civic Engagement and High School Academic Progress: An Analysis Using NELS Data andWorking Paper 53: Do Gender and Ethnicity Affect Civic Engagement and Academic Progress?,

Classroom Discussion

The vast majority of students (80%) reported that they were encouraged to form their own opinions regarding these issues. Slightly more than one-half reported that their classes required them to keep up with politics or government by reading the newspaper, watching television, or going to the Internet. (Lopez and Kirby 2007)

Students who participate in classroom discussions about current issues have a greater interest in politics, improved critical thinking & communication skills, more civic knowledge, and greater interest in discussing public affairs outside of school.
(The Civic Mission of Schools p. 24*)

Working Paper #72: The Classroom-Kitchen Table Connection by Vercellotti and Matto whowed that active political discussions and readings in classroom settings increase levels of political invovlement. However, the study also showed that without proper maintenance of these habits, this interest fades over time.

(The Classroom-Kitchen Table Connection p.27)

More specifically, discussion of international issues, hotly contested issues, and basic civic education concepts (such as the electoral college or citizens’ rights) were found to have positive effects on students’ civic knowledge, concerns about their economic future, and concerns about the unjust treatment of others. (Syvertsen, Flanagan, and Stout 2007)

Research suggests that classroom instruction in civic topics likely produces long term benefits. An ongoing evaluation of the Kids Voting USA civics curriculum found that 2 years after the program ended, students who participated in the program were still more likely to discuss current issues outside of class and to follow the news than their counterparts who did not participate. (McDevitt and Kiousis 2006)

State Policies

All 50 states and the District of the Columbia (D.C.) have a requirement to teach material or offer at least one course in civics and/or government. However, few standards cover skills and dispositions as well as knowledge.

As of June 2006, only 21 states has accountability measures, such as examinations for civics and/or social studies.

Service learning is in about half of High Schools.

Source: Education Commission of the States Policy Scan and Federal Policies on Civic Education and Service

* Complete citations can be found in The Civic Mission of Schools

Resources

Fact Sheets:

• Civic Skills and Federal Policy

Working Papers

On This Page:

**Updated Data** A voter turnout time series for 1972-2010 (Excel spreadsheet)

2008 Presidential Elections:

• Youth Voter Turnout in 2008 Elections
• Voting Laws & Youth Turnout

2010 Young Voter Turnout

• Opinion of the President
• Important National Issues
• Support for the Tea Party
• Racial and Ethnic Diversity
• College Experience
• Religious Affiliation
• Voting by Political Party

Getting Out the Youth Vote: What Works , Local Political Parties & Youth, & Other Resources

Youth Voter Turnout in 2008 Elections

• Youth (18-29) voter turnout rose to 51 percent in 2008, an increase of two percentage points from the 2004 Presidential election.

• In the 2008 election, 36% of youth without college experience turned out to vote, compared to the 62% with college experience.

Source: Youth Vote in 2008

Voting Laws & Youth Turnout

In 2008, on average, 59% of young Americans whose home state offered Election Day Registration voted; nine percentage points higher than those who did not live in EDR states.

Sources: “Easier Voting Methods Boost Youth Turnout“; How Postregistration Laws Affect the Turnout of Registrants; State Voting Laws and State Election Law Reform and Youth Voter Turnout .

2010 Midterm Elections

2010 Young Voter Turnout

• An estimated 24% of all eligible young people ages 18-29 voted in the 2010 midterms.

• Younger voters chose Democratic House candidates over Republican House candidates by a margin of 57%-40%. This is by comparison to the national results for all ages that chose Republican House Candidates over Democrat House candidates with a 52%-45% margin.

Opinion of the President

• By a 60%-40% margin, younger voters approved of Barack Obama’s handling of his job as president.

Important National Issues

• Given a choice among four issues that could be the most important facing the United States, younger voters chose the economy (59%), followed by health care (24%), the war in Afghanistan (8%) and illegal immigration (6%). These choices were not much different from those of all voters or any other age group.

Support for the Tea Party

• Twenty-seven percent of young voters supported the Tea Party, with 10% “strongly” supporting the movement. In contrast, 40% of all voters and nearly half (47%) of 60+ voters supported the Tea Party. Twenty-seven percent of 60+ voters supported it “strongly.”

Racial and Ethnic Diversity

• Younger voters were more racially and ethnically diverse than the electorate as a whole. Among younger voters, 66% were white, 14% Black, 15% Hispanic, 3% Asian, and 2% “all others”. In contrast, among voters 30 and older, 80% were white, 10% Black, 7% Hispanic, 1% Asian, and 2% “all other.” Seven percent of younger voters said they were gay, lesbian, or bisexual, compared to 4% of all voters.

College Experience

• The young electorate was tilted toward college-educated people. In fact, preliminary estimates by CIRCLE suggest that young people who have some college experience were more than twice as likely to vote as their peers who have not been to college.

Religious Affiliation

• Young voters had a different religious profile than other voters. In the 2010 National House election, they were half as likely to be Protestant and were unusually prominent in the “Other Christian” and “None” categories.

Source: Youth Voters in 2010 Elections

Voting by Political Party

• Younger voters tended to vote Democrat in the 2010 election by comparison to the rest of the voting population.

• The data also shows that the country tended to vote more Republican with age. As the population focus gets older, the voting trends tend to shift in the Republican direction.

For more information, see CIRLCE Fact Sheet “The Youth Vote in 2010: Final Estimates Based on Census Data,” which provides detailed tables and trends, including turnout estimates by state and estimates of the number of votes cast by young people over time.

Getting Out the Youth Vote: What Works

• Personalized and interactive contact counts. The most effective way of getting a new voter is the in-person door knock by a peer; the least effective is an automated phone call. Canvassing costs $11 to $14 per new vote, followed closely by phone banks at $10 to $25 per new vote. Robocalls mobilize so few voters that they cost $275 per new vote. (These costs are figured per vote that would not be cast without the mobilizing effort.)
• Begin with the basics. Telling a new voter where to vote, when to vote and how to use the voting machines increases turnout.
• The medium is more important than the message. Partisan and nonpartisan, negative and positive messages seem to work about the same. The important factor is the degree to which the contact is personalized.
• In ethnic and immigrant communities, start young. Young voters in these communities are easier to reach, are more likely to speak English (cutting down translation costs), and are the most effective messengers within their communities.
• Initial mobilization produces repeat voters. If an individual has been motivated to get to the polls once, they are more likely to return. So, getting young people to vote early could be key to raising a new generation of voters.
• Leaving young voters off contact lists is a costly mistake. Some campaigns still bypass young voters, but research shows they respond cost-effectively when contacted.

Source: Young Voter Mobilization Tactics

Personally contacting young people on Election Day can significantly increase youth voter turnout, but only if they’ve already expressed interest in voting.

Source: The Effects of an Election Day Voter Mobilization Campaign Targeting Young Voters by Donald P. Green

Local Political Parties and Youth

About nine-in-ten local party leaders say youth political engagement is a serious problem.

93% of local party leaders feel local parties can make a big difference in getting young people involved in politics.

Only 8% of the party chairs identified young people as the most important demographic for the “long-term success of their party,” compared to 21% who named senior citizens.

Source: Throwing a Better Party: Local Mobilizing Institutions and the Youth Vote

Resources

Fact Sheets:

2011

• The Youth Vote in 2010: Final Estimates Based on Census Data

2010

• Young Voters in the 2010 Elections
• Voter Registration Among Young People in 2008
• Will Young Voters Turn Out for the 2010 Election?
• The Minority Youth Vote in the 2008 Presidential Election
• Voter Turnout Among Young Women and Men in the 2008 Presidential Election
• The “Forgotten Half”: Education Disparities in Youth Voter Turnout
• Young people of faith more likely to be engaged than non-religious counterparts

2009

Research Report:

• Getting Out the Vote in Local Elections

Working Papers:

2010

• Youth Attitudes toward Civility in Politics

2009

• Predicting Civic Engagement in Urban High School Students
• Local and Absentee Voter Registration Drives on a College Campus
• Making Educational Progress: Links to Civic Engagement During the Transition to Adulthood

2004

• How Postregistration Laws Affect the Turnout of Registrants
• Throwing a Better Party: Local Mobilizing Institutions and the Youth Vote

2003

• Easier Voting Methods Boost Youth Turnout

For more information on youth voting:

• Young Voter Mobilization Tactics
• The 2004 Youth Vote: A Comprehensive Guide

On this page:

• Demographics
• Voting in 2008,2010
• Political Affiliation and Political Concerns
• Civic Engagement
• Volunteering
• Military Service
• Resources

Demographics

• In 2007, 43% of people between the ages of 18 and 29 had no college experience. There are more youth today with college experience than there were in the late 1960’s.

• The unemployment rate for youth with no college experience was more than double that of youth with college experience in 2007 (11% vs. 4%).

Source: Youth Demographics – Youth with No College Experience

Voting

2008

• Voter turnout for young people ages 18 to 29 rose slightly in 2008 (from 49 to 51 percent).
• Between the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections, turnout increased by one percentage point among college-educated young people and by two percentage points among non-college youth.  Since 2000, however, turnout among college-educated youth has increased by 12 percentage points and non-college youth turnout has increased by nine percentage points.
• Non-college attending young Americans have consistently voted at levels below college attending youth in both presidential and midterm election years.  In the 2008 election, turnout for college-educated 18- to 29-year-olds was 62 percent—26 percentage points higher than the turnout rate for non-college youth

• In 2008, young people with college experience were almost twice as likely to vote as those without college experience (62% vs. 36%). Between the 2000 and 2008 presidential elections, turnout among college-educated young people increased one point more than it did among lesser-educated youth.

2010

• Voter turnout among young American citizens ages 18 to 29 in the 2010 Midterm Election was 24.0%1, according to CIRCLE’s estimates from the recently released 2010 U.S. Census Current Population Survey (CPS), November Supplement.

• In the 2010 election, young people with college experience were almost twice as likely to vote as those without college experience (14.2% vs. 30.8%).

• Young people with a college degree saw the greatest decline in voting rates compared to their counterparts with less education: turnout dropped four points from 41.0% in 2006 to 37.4% in 2010.  However, college graduates voted at a rate three times as high as those with less than a high school degree.

• In the 2010 election, young people age 18 to 24 who were currently in college were more likely to vote than their peers who were not currently attending college by a margin of nine percentage points. Turnout gap between college-enrolled and non-enrolled youth have been relatively stable over time, with an exception of 2002.

• Full-time college students were more likely vote (26.8%) than part time students (24.9%). Moreover, young Black current college students were more likely than their White counterparts to vote in 2010 (29.6% versus 27.4%).  Hispanic College students lagged behind their peers, with a turnout of 22.7%.

Source: The Youth Vote in 2008,  Young Voters in the 2008 Presidential Election, The Youth Vote in 2010: Final Estimates Based on Census Data

Political Affiliation and Political Concerns

• Young people were strong supporters of candidate Barack Obama, regardless of educational attainment. Of young voters, 65 percent with college experience and 66 percent without college experience voted for Barack Obama in 2008.

• In 2008, 18- to 29-year-old voters with college experience were slightly more likely to self- identify as “Republican” than their non-college counterparts.  However, almost half of both college and non-college voters self-identified with the Democratic Party (compared to roughly a third in each group in 2004).

• Overall, young voters in the 2008 election picked “the economy” as the number one issue facing the country.  Young voters with college experience were slightly more likely to choose this issue than their non-college counterparts (see Figure 7).  Young people without college experience were more likely to pick “the war in Iraq” (16% vs. 11%) and “health care” (12% vs. 8%) than their counterparts with college experience.

Source: Electoral Engagement and College Experience

Civic Engagement

Non-college youth are less engaged than they were in the 1970s in nine out of ten forms of civic engagement.

Source: “Civic Engagement and the Changing Transition to Adulthood”

Volunteering

• In 2008, non-college youth (ages 20-29) had an 11% volunteer rate, while youth with college experience reported a higher rate of 25%. The plurality of non-college youth who volunteered in 2006, volunteered with a religious organization (37 percent).

Source: Volunteering and College Experience

Military Service

48 percent of 18-25 year olds in the military are youth with no college experience . (2006)

Source: 2006 Youth Demographics

Resources

Fact sheets:

2011

• The Youth Vote in 2010: Final Estimates Based on Census Data

2010

• The “Forgotten Half”: Education Disparities in Youth Voter Turnout

2009

• The Youth Vote in 2008
• Volunteering and College Experience
• Youth Demographics – Youth with No College Experience

2008

• Young Voters in the 2008 Presidential Election

2007

• Volunteering Among Non-college Youth

2006

• 2006 Youth Demographics

2005

• Electoral Engagement Among Non-College Attending Youth

Reports:

• “Civic Engagement and the Changing Transition to Adulthood”
• Daniels and Gillespie, CIRCLE Working Paper 34, “A Survey of Civic Learning Opportunities for Out-of-School Youth in the Adult Education and Literacy System.”
• Jarvis, Montoya, and Mulvoy, CIRCLE Working Paper 36, “The Political Participation of Working Youth and College Students“
• Jarvis, Montoya, and Mulvoy, CIRCLE Working Paper 37, “The Political Participation of College Students, Working Students and Working Youth.”

On this page:

• Young People in the Numbers
• Changes in Race and Ethnicity
• Education
• Resources

Young People in the Numbers

• There are approximately 46 million 18-to-29 year-olds currently eligible to vote in 2012

• In 2011, 18-29 year old citizens were approximately 24% of the current voting eligible population

(Source: Census Current Population Survey (CPS) March 2011 Supplement.)

• In 2010, according to the General Social Survey, young Americans (ages 18-29) said they attended religious services as follows:

Never: 27.7%
Less than once a year: 6.6%
Once a year: 14.4%
Several times a year: 9.1%
Once a month: 9.7%
Two-three times a month: 8.3%
Nearly every week: 5.8%
Every week: 14%
More than once a week: 4.4%

• There were over 32 million young residents in the United States in 2006, the majority of which were male.

• Nationally, 18-25 year-olds make up 14% of the population of eligible voters in the United States; 18-29 year-olds make up 21% of the voting eligible population. (CPS 2006)

• In 2006 there were 70 million 0-17 year-old residents, almost as many as the Baby Boomers (77 million).

• The majority of young Latinos and Asian-Americans were male in 2006. The majority of young African-Americans were female.

• Young Americans were 28 percentage points less likely to be married than they were in 1972.

• Nearly 20 percent of all young Americans were either immigrants or the children of immigrants in 2006.

Sources: 2006 Youth Demographic and Immigrant Youth Demographics

Changes in Race and Ethnicity

• Comparing the recent midterm elections, more African-American college students voted in 2010 than White college students.

• Between 1976 and 2006, the percentage of young residents who are white has steadily fallen from approximately 79% in 1976 to approximately 62% in 2006.

• The percentage of young residents who are Latinos grew 10 percentage points from 8% in 1976 to 18% in 2006.

Source: 2006 Youth Demographics

Education

High School

• 21% of 18-25 year olds do not have a high school diploma (the same as in 1972).

• Nearly 40% of young Latinos residents do not have a high school diploma.

• Approximately 22% of young African-Americans do not have a high school diploma.

College

• 50% of all 18-25 year-olds have had no college experience.

• 70% of young Latinos residents have had no college experience.

Source: 2006 Youth Demographics

* Unless otherwise noted young people are defined as 18-25 year olds.

Resources:

For more information on youth demographics:

Fact sheets:

• 2006 Youth Demographics
• Immigrant Youth Demographics

Working Papers:

2010

• Young Americans: Their Faith, Attitudes, and Values
• Joining Young, Voting Young: The Effects of Youth Voluntary Associations on Early Adult Voting
• The Classroom-Kitchen Table Connection
• Youth Attitudes toward Civility in Politics

2009

• Spiral of Rebellion: Conflict Seeking of Democratic Adolescents in Republican Counties

Research Report:

The 2006 Civic and Political Health of the Nation Report

On This Page

• Benefits of Volunteering
• Volunteering Trends & Statistics
• Where Young People Volunteer
• Motivations for Volunteering
• How to Encourage Volunteering Among Young People
• What Young People think about New Volunteer Programs and Policies
• Resources

Benefits of Volunteering

A fact sheet by Davila and Mora investigates the effect of school required community service on academic performance. The authors found positive links between the two, providing solid research for community service advocates.

• Students who participated in school required community service were 22 percentage points more likely to graduate from college than those that did not and were more likely to have improved their Reading, Math, Science, and History scores.
• Similarly, students who performed voluntary community service were 19 percentage points more likely to graduate from college than those that did not.

Read more results about the positive link between civic engagement and educational attainment here.

A CIRCLE working paper by Andrea Finlay and Constance Flanagan finds a link between educational progress and volunteering for young adults (after high school age).

A CIRCLE fact sheet finds that volunteering also seems to ease the transition to civilian life for returning veterans.

Volunteering Trends & Statistics

The actual rate of youth “volunteering” is controversial, because definitions of the term vary and each survey produces different levels. Probably the most reliable estimate comes from the Census annual Current Population Supplement, as analyzed by CIRCLE. (See Fig. 1 below.) These data suggest that the volunteering rate for young adults is around 19%, although other surveys yield higher rates. All surveys find a gap in the volunteering rate between those who attend college and those who do not.

• The volunteering rate among Americans of high-school age (16-18) hit its peak in 2005, at 33%, but has since declined to 27-29% for the past four years.

• Considering that the average volunteering rate between 2002 and 2005 was 32% for the same age group, the recent figures are cause for some concern because it may mean that high schools may not be offering opportunities for students to serve at the same rate as they once did or that there are fewer places in the communities for youth to serve.

Source: Youth Volunteering in the States: 2002 to 2009

• According to CIRCLE’s own 2006 Civic and Political Health of the Nation, 36% of young people, ages 15 to 25, volunteered in the past year.

• Of these young volunteers, only 19% reported volunteering on a regular basis.

Volunteering rates by student status:

• Current high school student: 47%
• Current college student: 43%
• Not a current student: 23%

Volunteering rate by state AND age group:

Ages 16-18

• In 2009, the volunteer rate for 16-to-18 year-olds ranged greatly across the country. This age group volunteered at the highest rates in 2009 in Utah (51%), Maine (50%), Connecticut (48%), Hawaii (46%), Idaho (46%) and Vermont (45%).
• The state with the lowest levels of volunteerism among 16-to-18 year-olds was Mississippi (14%).
• The national volunteer rate for 16-to 18-year-olds trended upward from 30% to 33% between 2002 and 2005, but it declined by five percentage points between 2005 and 2009.

• The national rate of volunteering for 19-to 24-year-olds increased one percentage point between 2002 and 2009 to 19%

Where Young People Volunteer

Organizations involving youth (67%) draw the greatest numbers of young volunteers, followed by civic or community organizations (54%) and then religious groups (49%). Political organizations tend to draw the fewest youth volunteers (13%).

Source: 2006 Civic and Political Health of the Nation

Wyoming, Utah, and Wisconsin had the three highest youth volunteer rates in 2005.

Source: CIRCLE’s tabulations from the Current Population Survey, September Supplement, 2005.

Motivations for Volunteering

• Overall, young people who participated in political organizations (just 13% of the young volunteers) were most likely to be motivated by the desire to address a social or political problem.

• Most young people who volunteered for other types of organizations wanted to help other people. For example, young people who volunteered for environmental organizations generally did so to help other people (52%), not to address a social or political problem (23%).

Source: 2006 Civic and Political Health of the Nation

How to Encourage Young People to Volunteer

Invitations please…
Being asked is the top reason motivating young people to volunteer (closely followed by “because it makes me feel good.”) In 2006, political organizations were also the most likely to recruit their volunteers by reaching out to them. In the other groups, young volunteers tended to make the initial contact.

Role Models…
Young people who grow up in a household where someone volunteers are twice as likely to volunteer regularly, to be an active member of a group, and are more likely to follow politics and vote.

Let’s Discuss!
Young people who discuss a volunteer experience are twice as likely as others to volunteer regularly. And, they are also 16 percentage points more likely to try to influence someone’s vote!

Sources: The Civic and Political Health of the Nation: A Generational Portrait & 2006 Civic and Political Health of the Nation

What Young People think about New Volunteer Programs and Policies

Young adults are enthusiastic about an expanded AmeriCorps type program – where every young person would be offered a chance to do a full year of community service to earn money for tuition.

However, the majority of young people oppose community service as a requirement for high school graduation. Source: Volunteering Among Young People

1 It is important to note that in recent years efforts to measure volunteering have produced widely different estimates, largely because of the methods employed to measure volunteering.

Resources

For more information on volunteering/ community service:

Consensus Report:

The Civic Mission of Schools (released by CIRCLE & Carnegie Corporation of New York)

Fact sheets:

• Youth Volunteering in the States: 2002 to 2009

2007

• An Assessment of Civic Engagement and Educational Attainment
• Volunteering Among Young People
• Volunteering Among High school students,
• College Experience and Volunteering
• Volunteering Among Non-college Youth
• Youth Volunteering in the States: 2002 to 2006

2005

• How Individuals Begin Volunteering

2004

• Time Spent in Volunteer Activity: 2002 and 2003

2002

• Youth Attitudes Towards Civic Education and Community Service Requirements
• Civic Engagement Among Minority Youth

Working Papers:

2009

• Predicting Civic Engagement in Urban High School Students
• Making Educational Progress: Links to Civic Engagement During the Transition to Adulthood

2008

• Civic Engagement and the Disadvantaged: Challenges, Opportunities and Recommendations
• Do Race, Ethnicity, Citizenship and Socio-Economic Status Determine Civic-Engagement?

2007

• Civic Engagement and High School Academic Progress: An Analysis Using NELS
• Do Gender and Ethnicity Affect Civic Engagement and Academic Progress?

2003

• The Civic Bonding of School and Family: An Evaluation of Kids Voting USA

Research Report:

The 2006 Civic and Political Health of the Nation Report

On This Page:

• Youth Turnout
• 2008 Presidential Election Trends
• 2010 Midterm Trends
• African-American Youth
• Latino Youth
• Asian-American Youth
• White and Caucasian Youth
• Women and Voting
• Trust in Government
• Resources

Youth Turnout

2008 Presidential Election Trends

The following are the percentages of 18-24 year old citizens (not residents) who voted in recent presidential elections:

The following are the percentages of 18-29 year old citizens (not residents) who voted in recent presidential elections:

2010 Midterm Trends
The following are the percentages of 18-29 year old citizens (not residents) who voted in the 2010 National Elections by comparison to voters aged 30 and over:

The following is a summary of the percentages of eligible young voters (18-29) who participated in the 2010 election, separated by race:

White youth experienced the largest decline in voter turnout, dropping from 28.0% in 2006 to 24.9% in 2010.

Source: Young Voters in 2010 Elections and The Youth Vote in 2010: Final Estimates Based on Census Data

African-American Youth

African-American youth are the most politically engaged racial/ethnic group. Compared to other groups, African-Americans are the most likely to vote regularly, belong to groups involved with politics, donate money to candidates and parties, display buttons or signs, and contact the media.

Sources: Civic Engagement Among Minority Youth, 2006 Civic and Political Health of the Nation Report, and Young Voters in the 2010 Elections

2008

• In 2008, much of the surge in youth voting was driven by an increase in voting among African-American youth. Since 2000, the African-American youth turnout rate has increased by sixteen percentage points – the largest increase of any youth minority group since 1972. In the 2008 election, young African-Americans had the highest rate of voter registration among all races of their age group (63.9%).

• Fifty-eight percent of African-American youth voted in 2008, the highest turnout rate of any youth racial/ethnic group since 1972.

• Non-college youth generally turned out at a lower rate than their college peers in 2008.  However, young African Americans who have not gone to college fared better than other groups, whereas young Asian Americans who have not gone to college showed the worst turnout of all groups.

Source: The Youth Vote in 2008 ,  Electoral Engagement Among Minority Youth & The Minority Youth Vote in the 2008 Presidential Election

2010

• In 2010, young African Americans voted at a rate of 27.5%.  This was an increase from the 2006 Midterm elections, when 24.0% of young African Americans had voted.  The relatively strong showing continues a trend from 2008, when young African Americans showed the highest turnout rate among any youth racial/ethnic group since 1972. Despite lower levels of turnout all around, young African American voters are still relatively engaged politically.

• Younger Blacks represented 14% of all younger voters, just about the same as their proportion of the whole 18-29 population (14.4%). In 2008, they represented 18% of younger voters and had the highest turnout rate of any racial/ethnic group of young Americans. In 2010, it appears that their turnout was about on par with younger voters as a whole.

Sources: Young Voters in the 2010 Elections

Latino Youth

2006

• Young Latinos are the least likely to volunteer, work with others on community problems, buy or refuse to buy products for political or ethical reasons, sign paper or email petitions, contact officials, and belong to groups involved with politics.
• Latinos have the highest rate of “disengaged” young people, at 67%. This high level of disengagement may be a function of barriers to engagement, such as acquiring citizenship, that many Latinos face. However, fully one-quarter of young Latinos had protested, more than double the rate for any other racial/ethnic group.

Source: 2006 Civic and Political Health of the Nation Report

2008

• Although young Latinos are generally not as civically engaged as other racial/ethnic groups, in 2006 25% said that they had participated in a protest—more than twice the proportion of any other racial/ethnic group.
• Since 2000, Latino Youth have showed a steady increase in voter turnout; since 2000, latino youths (age 18-to-24) have increased voter turnout by 13 percentage points.

Source: The Youth Vote in 2008 and Civic Engagement Among Minority Youth

• Turnout rates vary greatly within Latino communities. Young Latino men who are not enrolled in college are the least likely of young citizens to turn out (only 25% voted in 2000). However, ethnicity plays a role in predicting turnout.

• Cuban-Americans between the ages of 18-30 are the most likely among young Latinos to vote (50% vote). However, they are less likely to vote than older Cuban-Americans, 73% of whom vote.

Source: Electoral Engagement Among Latino Youth

• Young Latinos are more likely to respond to door-to-door get-out-the-vote canvassers, if the initial canvassers are also Latino.

Source: CIRCLE Working Paper 10: Mobilizing the Latino Youth Vote

2010

• In the 2010 Midterm Elections, younger voters were more racially and ethnically diverse than the electorate as a whole. However, the turnout among Hispanic youth declined in comparison to 2006, but by only one point. The young Latino vote was particularly prominent, more than doubling the national percentage of 30+ voters.
• Younger Hispanics represented 15% of younger voters, close to the same as their proportion of the 18-29 population as a whole (14.2%). In past elections, the turnout of young Hispanics had lagged behind other racial/ethnic groups, but the exit polls suggest that they may have narrowed or even erased the gap in 2010.

Sources: Young Voters in the 2010 Elections and The Youth Vote in 2010: Final Estimates Based on Census Data

Asian-American Youth

• Asian-American youth are the most likely racial/ethnic group to report volunteering, both on a regular and episodic basis. In 2006, 54% of young Asian-Americans reported volunteering. The 2008 presidential election marked the highest reported Asian youth (age 18-to-24) voter turnout since 1992, with a rate of 39%. Since the dip in youth voter turnout since 2000, the Asian youth voter turnout has increased 11 percentage points.

• About one-third of young Asian-Americans said they had worked “informally with some one or some group to solve a problem in the community” where they live, compared to 20% of young whites, 18% of young African-Africans and 17% of young Latinos.

Source: The Youth Vote in 2008 & Civic Engagement Among Minority Youth

• In a recent study of voter mobilization, young Asian-Americans’ preferences for speaking a language other than English ranged from 5% among Indian-Americans to over 60% of Korean-Americans.

• Voter outreach among Asian-Americans was most effective in a Chinese-American community that had a strong ethnic identification – including an active Chinese language newspaper and elected Chinese-American officials.

Source: Getting Out the Vote Among Asian-American Young People and Adults in Los Angeles County

2010

• In the 2010 Midterm Election, turnout among Asian American youth increased between 2006 and 2010, but only by a small amount (one point).

Source: The Youth Vote in 2010: Final Estimates Based on Census Data

White or Caucasian Youth

2010

• Whites were more likely to support the Republicans, with just 51% of white youth and 61% of white voters over the age of thirty voting for the Republican candidate. Notably, white young voters were more likely to support the Republican candidate (51%) than the Democratic candidate (46%).

• White youth were more likely to support the Tea Party movement (33%) than young Black and Hispanic voters (15% and 16%, respectively), although they were less supportive than their adult counterparts (47% of whom supported the movement). About one third of young voters, regardless of race, opposed the movement. Roughly half of Black and Hispanic young voters reported neutral feelings about the movement compared to a third of white young voters. Voters age 30 plus had more polarized views of the movement, and those opinions differed by race. Whites 30 and older were most supportive of the movement (47% supported it), while 30+ Black voters were most opposed (60% opposed the movement).

Sources: Young Voters in the 2010 Elections and The Youth Vote in 2010: Final Estimates Based on Census Data

Women and Voting

2008 Election Trends by Gender

The following are the percentages of 18-24 year old citizens (not residents) who voted in recent presidential elections:

• The following are the percentages of 18-29 year old citizens (not residents) who voted in recent presidential elections:

• Young women voted at higher rates than young men in the 2008 election. 52 percent of 18-24 year old women and 45 percent of young men voted in 2008.

Source: The Youth Vote in 2008

• Single young people, particularly women, are more likely to vote than married young people. In 2008, however, single young females and married young females led the way in voter turnout. Young single females had the highest turnout at a rate of 52%, while young married females turned out a very close rate of 51%. Young married males were the least likely to vote at a rate41%.

Source: The Youth Vote 2004

2010 Election Trends by Gender

The following is a summary of young voter (18-29) turnout in the 2010 Midterm Elections:

• In 2010, young female voters voted at a similar rate as their male counterparts.  Moreover, turnout among young women declined between 2006 and 2010 by three points, shrinking the “gender gap” in voting that previously favored women.  In 2008, for example, an eight point voter turnout gap existed between young men and women.  In 2010, the gap shrunk to just slightly over one percentage point

Source: The Youth Vote in 2010: Final Estimates Based on Census Data

Trust in Government

• While the majority of young African-Americans between ages 15-25 believe government should do more to solve problems, there has been a nearly 20-point increase since 2002 in the percentage of young African-Americans who say that “government is almost always wasteful and inefficient.”

• This shift in attitudes was also found for young people of all racial groups, though not as drastic as among African-Americans.

• The number of young African-Americans who think government often does a better job than people give it credit for dropped from 62% to 43%.

Source: Civic Engagement Among Minority Youth

Resources

For more information on trends by race, ethnicity, & gender:

Fact sheets:

2011

• The Youth Vote in 2010: Final Estimates Based on Census Data

2010

• Young Voters in the 2010 Elections
• The Minority Youth Vote in the 2008 Presidential Election
• Voter Turnout Among Young Women and Men in the 2008 Presidential Election

2009

• Volunteering among Youth of Immigrant Origin
• The Youth Vote in 2008

2008

• Young Voters in the 2008 Presidential Election

2007

• An Assessment of Civic Engagement and Educational Attainment
• Civic Engagement Among Young Men and Women
• Civic Engagement Among Minority Youth

2005

• Electoral Engagement Among Minority Youth
• Voter Turnout Among Young Women and Men
• Attitudes of Young People Toward Diversity

2003

• Electoral Engagement Among Latino Youth

Working Papers:

2010

• Youth Attitudes toward Civility in Politics

2009

• Predicting Civic Engagement in Urban High School Students

2008

• Civic Engagement and the Disadvantaged: Challenges, Opportunities and Recommendations
• Do Race, Ethnicity, Citizenship and Socio-economic Status Determine Civic Engagement?

2007

• The Civic Achievement Gap

2005

• African American Inner City Teens and Civic Engagement

2004

• Getting Out the Vote Among Asian American Young People
• Mobilizing the Latino Youth Vote
• How Organized Group Mentoring and Kinship Communities Encourage Sustained Civic Engagement