Millennial Generation Civic Behavior

Something significant is underway within the youngest portion of the electorate.

On the one hand, the conventional wisdom about young people and politics is more true than ever.  Poll after poll shows that young people do not believe that politics is relevant to their lives.  Subsequently, average youth’s knowledge about the political process and faith that it will work for them is dangerously low. 

However, at the same time this generation of young people has eschewed traditional politics, they have embraced less political forms of civic participation  - community service and education work - to satisfy their desire to make social change.  And, they are engaging in these activities in record numbers.  Therefore, while this volunteer work is too often disconnected from the political sphere, the sheer size of it and the impulse behind it indicates a powerful streak of community mindedness among this generation, one that appears to have intensified in recent years.

Meanwhile, surveys show that traditional political awareness is on the uptick, with more young people than ever before reporting interest in political issues and elections, and participation in political rallies and campaigns.

Most significantly, youth voting turnout rates has increased each year since 2004 by every measure, with highly dramatic increases in communities where young people were the target of a turnout effort.

Youth Voting Studies

The 2004 election: An analysis by CIRCLE which found that youth voter turnout surged by 11 percentage points over 2000, three times the rate of the general population.

The 2005 election: An analysis of voter turnout in student-dense precincts in New Jersey and Virginia found turnout increases between 15 and 19% over 2001.

Studies about Volunteerism and Attitudes toward Politics and Various Issues

UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute: The seminal survey of college freshmen, conducted annually for forty years.

Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) 2006 Civic and Political Health of the Nation Survey

Greenberg Quinlan Rosner’s Coming of Age in America series: A tremendously insightful series of focus groups and polls that focus on the seemingly contradictory characteristics of young people.  Of particular interest is part III, which dives into youth views on global warming.

Corporation for National and Community Service’s Volunteering in America

Harvard Institute of Politics’ Bi-annual survey of students’ political views

Young Voter Strategies’ Polling Young Voters series: A series of attitudal surveys conducted by Young Voter Strategies with Ed Goeas of The Tarrance Group and Celinda Lake of Lake Research Partners

Political Research Associate’s Deliberate Differences: An incisive look by Pam Chamberlain at the divide between mainstream students and political activists.