Political Engagement Trends of Latino, African American, and Asian Youth
Young people in America are an increasingly diverse group with varied political and ideological views and different ways of engaging in political and civic life.
Our most recent analysis looks at differences in electoral engagement among youth of different racial and ethnic backgrounds, with separate fact sheets about African American, Asian American, and Hispanic young people. The fact sheets present both findings and recommendations for how to better engage youth of different ethnic backgrounds in the short and long terms.
Some noteworthy findings:
African Americans
– Perhaps in part because of the “Obama effect,” Black youth had the highest voter turnout rates in each of the last three elections (2008, 2010, 2012), and the highest registration rates in the last two presidential cycles. At the same time, young African Americans remain the most “under-mobilized” group, meaning those who register but do note vote.
– Gender matters: 37% of young Black men consider themselves “conservative” and 19% voted for Mitt Romney in 2012. Only 18% of young Black women consider themselves “conservative” and just 1% voted for Romney.
Asian Americans
– Turnout among Asian American youth decreased from 43% to 36.2% in the 2012 election—the lowest rate among youth of different ethnic groups—and young Asians generally lag far behind their peers in voter turnout and registration rates.
– Young Asian Americans are significantly more likely than youth of other ethnic groups to donate to charitable organizations.
Latinos
– Nearly 40% of young Hispanics are “civically alienated” and their voting rates in the last three elections have been among the lowest across all racial and ethnic groups
– Latino youth saw an increase of 46.6% to 48.9% in their voter registration rates between 2008 and 2012, even as youth of other racial and ethnic backgrounds all experienced declines.
Read the full set of fact sheets about African American, Asian American, and Hispanic youth engagement.
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New Report on Girls’ Leadership and K-12 Education
CIRCLE Deputy Director Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg and CIRCLE Youth Coordinator & Researcher Abby Kiesa helped co-author a recent report on girls’ leadership released by the National Education Association.
The report, “Taking the Lead: How Educators Can Help Close the Gender Leadership Gap,” addresses how educators can help promote girls’ pathways to leadership. Dr. Kawashima-Ginsberg presented the report’s findings during an international webinar.
Read more here.
CIRCLE 2014 Election Center Resources
With the 2014 midterms less than two weeks away, you can review much of our election-related research and analysis in our 2014 Election Center. Highlights include:
– Youth demographic data
– Analysis of competitive House and Senate races where the Youth Vote may play an important role.
– Interactive, state-by-state map of youth voting data
– Congressional district-level map of youth voting and demographic and social indicators.
Explore the full 2014 Election Center here and look for our special post-election e-update with instant analysis.
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