Trends by Race, Ethnicity, & Gender
Youth Turnout | African
American Youth | Latino
Youth | Asian American
Youth | Women and Voting
| Trust in Government
Youth Turnout
The following are the percentages of 18-24 year
old citizens (not residents) who voted
in recent presidential elections:
|
White Americans
|
African Americans |
Native Americans |
Asian Americans |
Latinos |
| 1992 |
52% |
41% |
37% |
32% |
33% |
| 1996 |
38% |
34% |
25% |
35% |
24% |
| 2000 |
38% |
36% |
30% |
28% |
26% |
| 2004 |
50% |
47% |
37% |
36% |
33% |
The following are the percentages of 18-29 year
old citizens (not residents) who voted
in recent presidential elections:
|
White Americans
|
African Americans |
Native Americans |
Asian Americans |
Latinos |
| 1992 |
55% |
45% |
36% |
37% |
39% |
| 1996 |
41% |
39% |
28% |
34% |
28% |
| 2000 |
42% |
42% |
30% |
32% |
29% |
| 2004 |
52% |
50% |
35% |
32% |
36% |
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.
Source: Civic Engagement Among Minority Youth
In 2004, much of the surge in youth voting was driven
by an increase in voting among African-American youth.
African-American turnout fell off in the 1988 election
and remained relatively stable until the 2004 election,
in which African-Americans experienced a jump in turnout of more than 11 percentage
points over 2000—the greatest increase in turnout
of any racial or ethnic minority group during the recent
election cycle.
Source: Electoral
Engagement Among Minority Youth
Latino Youth
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.
Source: 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
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.
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: 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
Women and Voting
The following are the percentages of
18-24 year old citizens (not residents)
who voted in recent presidential elections:
|
Women |
Men |
| 1992 |
51% |
46% |
| 1996 |
38% |
33% |
| 2000 |
38% |
34% |
| 2004 |
50% |
44% |
The
following are the percentages of 18-29 year old
citizens (not residents) who voted in
recent presidential elections:
|
Women |
Men |
| 1992 |
54% |
50% |
| 1996 |
43% |
36% |
| 2000 |
43% |
38% |
| 2004 |
52% |
46% |
Young women voted at higher rates than young men in the
2004 election. 50 percent of 18-24 year old women and
44 percent of young men voted in 2004.
Source: Voter
Turnout Among Women and Men
Single young people, particularly women, are more likely
to vote than married young people. The turnout among single
women age 18-24 led the way and increased by 12 percentage
points, or about one third, since 2000.
Source: The
Youth Vote 2004
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
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