FACT SHEET CIRCLE The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement Civic Engagement Among Minority Youth By Mark Hugo Lopez, Research Director 1 September 2002 There are many ways to measure civic engagement. In this fact sheet, information on three main measures, voter turnout, voter registration, and volunteering is presented. In 2000, there were an estimated 6.15 million young non- s 2 between the ages of 15 and 25, 52.9 percent of who were female. This compares to an estimated 27.4 million young non- whites and 6.4 million young s. 3 Voter Turnout As reported in our fact sheet Youth Voter Turnout has Declined by Any Measure, voter turnout, using the CIRCLE method, 4 for young people ages 18-24 has declined steadily Graph 1: 18-24 Year Old Citizen Voter Turnout, Presidential Years Graph 2: 18-24 Year Old Citizen Voter Turnout, Midterm Election Years 7 7 6 6 5 5 1 1 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 Native Asian Native Asian School of Public Affairs 2101 Van Munching Hall University of Maryland College Park, MD 20742-1821 P: 301 405 2790 F: 301 314 9346 W: www.civicyouth.org CIRCLE was founded in 2001 with a generous grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts and is based in the University of Maryland's School of Public Affairs.
2 since 1972. Among young s, the decline in voter turnout since the mid- 1980s comes after several years of increased turnout, most noticeably in the presidential election year of 1984. By 2000, voter turnout among young s had returned to 1972 s level. 8 7 6 5 Graph 3: Youth Ages 15-25 are Most Likely to View Voting as Important 51% 48% 56% 44% 46% 53% Views on Voting In a recent survey of 1,500 young people commissioned by CIRCLE in collaboration with the Council for Excellence in Government s Center for Democracy and Citizenship, and the Partnership for Trust in Government in January of 2002, among 15-25 year olds, young s are equally likely as young whites to view voting as important. 1 Important Not Important National Youth Survey, Jan 2002 Graph 4: of Young People Ages 15-25 Describe Voting as "a Right" Among young people, approximately 30 percent view voting as a right, with a similar view of voting evident across young whites, young s, and young s. 5 33% 28% 27% 21% 22% 19% 1 8% 11% 12% "a right" "a responsibility" "a duty" National Youth Survey, Jan 2002.
3 8 Graph 5: A Majority of Youth Ages 15-25 Feel they can make Little Difference in Solving the Problems of Their Communities Young people feel they can make little difference in solving the problems of their community, with young s and Young s feeling less efficacious than their young white counterparts. 7 6 5 51% 48% 41% 58% 58% 1 Youth Surve grea y, Jan t deal/some 2002. a little/almost no/no 8 Graph 6: Talked About Politics with Parents, Young People Ages 15-25 young people are least likely to have discussed politics with their parents. 7 6 53% 54% 58% 5 47% 46% 42% 1 often/sometimes not often/never National Youth Survey, Jan 2002.
4 Registering to Vote Voter Registration rates among young people have remained relatively flat over the past 30 years, though since 1984 voter registration rates among young s are statistically indistinguishable from that of whites. Young s continue to lag behind their young and white counterparts in voter registration rates. 5 Graph 7: Registration Rates Among 18-24 Year Old Citizens, Presidential Years Graph 8: Registration Rates Among 18-24 Year Old Citizens, Midterm Years 7 7 6 6 5 5 1 1 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 Native Asian Native Asian Source: Current Population Survey, November Supplement Data, 1972-2000. Voter turnout is calculated using the CIRCLE method. Strong majorities of young people feel their vote will count, though young s are least likely to feel their vote makes a difference. 10 9 8 7 6 5 1 Graph 9: My Vote Counts, Youth Ages 18-25 88% 12% 81% 18% 84% 15% agree disagree
5 Young women are more likely than young men to feel their vote will count, irrespective of race or ethnicity. Graph 10: My Vote Counts, by Gender, Youth Ages 18-25 10 9 8 87% 89% 75% 87% 81% 88% 7 6 5 1 13% 11% 23% 12% 18% 12% Male Female Male Female Male Female agree disagree
6 Voter Turnout Among the Registered Youth voter turnout has declined, even among those registered to vote. Graph 11: Voter Turnout Among 18-24 Year Old Registered Citizens, Presidential Years Graph 12: Voter Turnout Among 18-24 Year Old Registered Citizens, Midterm Years 10 9 8 7 6 5 1 10 9 8 7 6 5 1 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 Native Asian Native Asian Source: Current Population Survey, November Supplement Data, 1972-2000. Voter turnout is calculated using the CIRCLE method.
7 Trust in Government 8 7 6 Graph 13: Trust in Government Youth Ages 15-25 65% 59% 56% and youth have less trust in government than their white counterparts. Trust in government is highest among young women 5 34% 42% 1 a lot/some a little/not at all Graph 14: Trust in Government, by Gender, Youth Ages 15-25 8 7 6 59% 72% 56% 62% 52% 59% 5 43% 37% 45% 27% 1 Male Female Male Female Male Female a lot/some a little/not at all
8 Volunteering 45% Graph 15: s & -s, percent of High School Seniors who have "Never Volunteered" Volunteering among white and youth over the past 10 years is up. Graph 15 shows that fewer young people are reporting they have never volunteered. 35% 25% 15% 1 5% Year 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 - Source: Monitoring the Future, High School Senior Survey, 1976 to 1998. Across ethnic groups, from CIRCLE s 2002 survey, young people are most likely to say they have never volunteered, though this masks differences in gender. By gender, young white males and young males are least likely to have volunteered their time. Graph 16: Percent who Never Volunteer, 15-25 year olds 5 39% 37% 42% 1
9 6 5 Graph 17: Percent Who Never Volunteer, By Gender, Youth Ages 15-25 43% 52% 34% 37% 37% 31% 1 Male Female Male Female Male Female 8 7 6 Graph 18: Percent of Young People, Ages 15-25, Who Have Donated to a Church or Community Organization 74% 75% 6 Similarly, young s are least likely to have donated to a community or church organization. 5 26% 25% 1 yes no
10 Support for Civic Courses Graph 19: Support for High School Civics/Government Classes, Youth Ages 15-25 Young s are the biggest supporters of requiring High School Civics/Government classes for graduation. 8 7 67% 72% 6 5 53% 41% 29% 27% 1 favorable unfoavorable
11 Political Party Identification 6 Graph 20: Political Party Identification, Youth Ages 18-25 Young s are most likely to identify themselves as democrats. This is particularly true for young female s. 5 41% 32% 28% 27% 36% 25% 29% 21% 1 Democrat Independent Republican 5 Graph 21: Political Party Identification, By Gender, Youth Ages 18-25 27% 33% 32% 32% 26% 39% 44% 41% 24% 23% 21% 21% 21% 29% 34% 1 Male Female Male Female Male Female Democrat Independent Republican
12 Notes 1 I thank Michael Olander for excellent research assistance. I also thank Bill Galston, Deborah Both, and Peter Levine for helpful comments on previous drafts of this fact sheet. All errors in fact or interpretation are my own. 2 All results are for non- s, non- whites, and s. 3 These figures are estimates of the number of non-institutionalized young people in the U.S. Estimates are based on the 2000 November supplement of the Current Population Survey. 4 Data for Voter Turnout rates and Registration rates are taken from the 1972 to 2000 November Supplements of the Current Population Surveys. Each survey is completed within two weeks of the November elections, and interviews over 50,000 noninstitutionalized individuals. Calculation of the voter turnout rate by the CIRCLE method excludes survey participants who did not answer the voting question or the registration question. Inclusion of no answers would result in a lower turnout rate than that reported here. For this fact sheet, voter turnout and voter registration rates are calculated for U.S. citizens only. For example, Voter Turnout among citizens is given as: Voter_ Turnout citizens_ no_ miss = (# of _ self reported _ voters) (# _ of _ U. S. Citizens_ over_ age_18_ who_ answered _ the_ voting_ question). 5 Similar to the measure for voter turnout, the measure of voter registration has been adjusted to reflect registration rates among U.S. citizens only, and non-responses to the question of voter registration.