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Working Papers - Youth Voting/Political Participation
In-depth analysis on a particular issue in the field of civic engagement can be found in CIRCLE’s working papers.
RSSWorking Papers - Youth Voting/Political Participation
FEATURED: The Engaged Citizen Index: Examining the Racial and Ethnic Civic and Political Engagement Gaps of Young Adults
By Rebecca Jacobsen and Tamara Wilder Linkow February 2012 In CIRCLE Working Paper 74, Rebecca Jacobsen and Tamara Wilder Linkow construct a composite index of engaged citizenship indicators for young adults that incorporates 40 variables weighted according to the input of a panel of experts. The resulting Engaged Citizen Index reveals significant racial and ethnic Read More >
FEATURED: Spiral of Rebellion: Conflict Seeking of Democratic Adolescents in Republican Counties
by Michael McDevitt November 2009 A study of adolescents living in red and blue counties during the 2006 midterm elections shows a striking pattern of Democratic youth thriving in political expression and debate when exposed to Republican ideological climates. Democratic adolescents were more likely to talk with parents and friends about politics, disagree openly, test Read More >
FEATURED: New CIRCLE working paper shows college students respond strongly to an in-person drive; choose to vote “back home” in swing states.
By Kim Castle, Janice Levy, and Michael Peshkin October 2009 In CIRCLE working paper (#66), authors Kim Castle, Janice Levy and Michael Peshkin assess the outcomes of an in-person campus drive in which students were offered a choice of college-state voting in Illinois, or home-state voting by absentee ballot. The study found that the great Read More >
Working Paper 55: Civic Measurement Models: Tapping Adolescents’ Civic Engagement
by Constance A. Flanagan, Amy K. Syversten, and Michael D. Stout May 2007 “The goal of this project was to produce a set of civic measures with good psychometric properties that are appropriate for use with young people ages 12-18. These measures tap aspects of adolescents civic behaviors, opinions, knowledge, and dispositions. These measures are Read More >
Working Paper 51: The Civic Achievement Gap
by Meira Levinson January 2007 “This paper, drawn from a book in progress, summarizes evidence of a civic achievement gap between non-white, poor, and/or immigrant youth, on the one hand, and white, wealthier, and/or native-born youth, on the other. Young people (and adults) in the former group demonstrate consistently lower levels of civic and political Read More >
Working Paper 49: Experiments in Political Socialization: Kids Voting USA as a Model for Civic Education Reform
by Michael McDevitt and Spiro Kiousis August 2006 “This report describes how an innovative curriculum promoted the civic development of high school students along with parents by stimulating news media attention and discussion in families. Evidence is based on a three-year evaluation of Kids Voting USA, an interactive, election-based curriculum. Political communication in the home Read More >
Working Paper 46: College Students and Politics: A Literature Review
by Nicholas V. Longo and Ross P. Meyer May 2006 “In this review, we hope to provide a deeper understanding of current college students’ conceptions of and participation in politics through a review of the scholarly literature. We hope that this review will help us refine our research questions and ultimately lead to a larger Read More >
Working Paper 45: Youth Civic Engagement: An Institutional Turn
by Peter Levine and James Youniss February 2006 “The papers in this collection were written by an interdisciplinary group to address two main questions: What conditions deter young people’s involvement in politics and civic life? What reforms could enhance youth engagement? Most of the contributors met face-to-face in Washington, DC in March 2005 to discuss Read More >
Working Paper 42: Young Voters and the Web of Politics 2004: The Youth Political Web Sphere Comes of Age
by Lance Bennett and Michael Xenos October 2005 “This project involves a network-analysis of nonpartisan youth electoral engagement websites, plus some analysis of sites created by campaigns and parties. With regard to the nonpartisan sites, three trends stood out as the most promising. First, the size of the youth engagement web sphere has grown dramatically.” Read More >
Working Paper 41: Gender and Civic Engagement: Secondary Analysis of Survey Data
by Krista Jenkins June 2005 “The NCES represents the best survey in recent years to examine rates and types of activism among both young women and men. It is rich with questions about a variety of ways people can influence politics and their communities. These range from activities designed to influence the formal political process, Read More >
Working Paper 37: The Political Participation of College Students, Working Students and Working Youth
by Sharon E. Jarvis, Lisa Montoya, and Emily Mulvoy August 2005 “Education has long been a powerful predictor in understanding political participation and yet the paths toward earning a college degree have changed considerably in recent years. As tuition costs increase and as schooling option burgeon, today’s youth are taking longer to finish their academic Read More >
Working Paper 36: The Political Participation of Working Youth and College Students
by Sharon E. Jarvis, Lisa Montoya, and Emily Mulvoy August 2005 “Unprecedented attention has gone to researching young voters, and yet one segment of this age group has been largely ignored: non-college (or “working”) youth. Because very little is known about them, the following paper advances three fundamental concerns: What types of political activities do Read More >
Working Paper 35: The Youth Vote 2004, With a Historical Look at Youth Voting Patterns, 1972-2004
by Mark Hugo Lopez, Emily Kirby, Jared Sagoff, and Chris Herbst July 2005 “This report presents trends in voter participation among young people from multiple data sources and discusses the different methods that are used to generate these statistics. The report shows that there are several reasonable estimates of youth turnout for any particular year; Read More >
Working Paper 26: Civic Engagement and the Canvass
by Dana R. Fisher January 2005 “First, the study explores what sections of the population are drawn to participate in political and service-oriented work such as the summer canvass, focusing on who canvasses and why. This section also discusses how these young people became involved in the canvass and briefly describes the work. Second, we Read More >
Working Paper 24: Technology and Politics: Incentives for Youth Participation
by Shanto Iyengar and Simon Jackman December 2004 “The question of potential “treatments” for the problem of politically disengaged youth has attracted considerable attention. Much of the literature focuses on civic education and efforts to make the curricula more “hands-on.” The most recent nationwide evidence suggests that civics courses do impart information and foster development Read More >
Working Paper 22: Education for Deliberative Democracy: The Long-term Influence of Kids Voting USA
by Michael McDevitt and Spiro Kiousis September 2004 “This progress report provides evidence for persistent influence of Kids Voting USA, an interactive civic curriculum taught during election campaigns. The entire research project consists of multiple waves of student and parent interviews, covering a three-year period. Respondents were recruited from families in Arizona, Colorado, and Florida. Read More >
Working Paper 21: The Effects of an Election Day Voter Mobilization Campaign Targeting Young Voters
by Donald P. Green September 2004 “A field experiment was conducted in order to gauge the effects of Election Day voter mobilization efforts directed at registered voters 18-25 years of age. Prior to New Jersey’s November 2003 state legislative elections, volunteers contacted 2,817 registered voters through a combination of phone calls and doorto- door canvassing. Read More >
Working Paper 19: Getting Out the Vote among Asian American Young People and Adults in Los Angeles County: A Field Experiment
by Janelle S. Wong August 2004 “This study examines the effects of mobilization on political participation among Asian Americans. It focuses on whether telephone and mail canvassing increases voter turnout among Asian Americans who live in high-density Asian American areas in Los Angeles County. Prior to the November 5, 2002 elections, a randomized voter mobilization Read More >
Working Paper 15: How Postregistration Laws Affect the Turnout of Registrants
by Raymond E. Wolfinger, Benjamin Highton, and Megan Mullin June 2004 “Some American states try to make it easy for their registered citizens to go to the polls on Election Day. They mail a sample ballot to each registrant as well, perhaps, as information about the location of his or her polling place. Polls may Read More >
Working Paper 13: Throwing a Better Party: Local Mobilizing Institutions and the Youth Vote
by Daniel M. Shea April 2004 “Political parties seem alive and well in the 21st century—at least at the state and national levels. But are they also vibrant at the local level? Perhaps more important, are local parties doing anything to connect with young voters—anything to bring them into the electoral process in meaningful ways? Read More >
Working Paper 03: Socializing Youth for Citizenship
by Jonathan F. Zaff March 2003 “In the present study, we hypothesize that programs and policies to promote positive citizenship may need to begin by first focusing on informal interactions in youths’ lives, such as with parents and peers, and on the culture in which youth are raised.” Download here (PDF).
Working Paper 01: Easier Voting Methods Boost Youth Turnout
By Mary Fitzgerald February 2003 “Overall, this analysis shows that some alternative voting methods have the potential to alter the political landscape by changing the way that young people participate in elections, the way that political parties mobilize voters, as well as who participates in elections.” Download here (PDF).