As we approach the 2014 Election, CIRCLE at Tisch College has a wealth of relevant information. Our 2014 Election Center is the go-to place for data in the form of interactive maps and trends. In addition, we have recently released five more specialized studies:

• Do Controversial Ballot Measures Affect Youth Voter Turnout?
• Latino Youth: Political Engagement Trends
• Asian American Youth: Political Engagement Trends
• African American Youth: Political Engagement Trends
• UPDATED – 2014 Midterms: Young Voters in Competitive Senate Races

Stay tuned for rapid analysis on Election Night, the day after, and beyond.

The post CIRCLE resources on the election appeared first on Peter Levine.

(Orlando, FL) Here is the audio of an interview I enjoyed doing recently on BYU Radio. The conversation ranged pretty widely, but here are a few excerpts (from their writeup):

Lack of engagement among young people is not entirely their fault, says Levine. “Young people are often just not asked to vote,” says Levine. “If someone knocks on your door, you’re more likely to vote. Young people are often left off those campaign lists because they haven’t voted before or they’re considered unlikely to vote. So that becomes a vicious cycle.” …

There is no shortage of engagement among young people in efforts to improve their world –socially conscious hashtag campaigns, boycotts and protests are evidence of that. But engagement in the formal political process is where today’s youth are lacking, says Levine. “Politics needs to make room for youth. The process isn’t committed to them, it’s not reaching out to them and it’s serving up a complex voting system.”

The post talking about the youth vote appeared first on Peter Levine.

Below is some recent news coverage of CIRCLE’s research on the youth vote in 2016. Most of this reporting uses data and visualization tools that we have collected in one place, our “Election Center.”

I don’t think the signs are good for national youth turnout in November, but one of the reasons we never see reasonable turnout in midterm years is that most places don’t have competitive elections. For instance, 16 states don’t have a Senate race at all this year, and virtually all House contests are foreordained. We have identified some key states where the youth vote will matter–and youth turnout may also be reasonable in those places:

• Maria Liasson, Millennials Are Blue Now, But Party Allegiance Could Be Up For Grabs*
• Phillip P. Bailey, “Youth Voters Figure Large in Alison Lundergan Grimes’ Game Plan“
• Chris LeBlanc, “Young Louisiana Voters Becoming Rising Force”
• Alexandria Burris “Landrieu touts student loan reform in Shreveport“
• Tat-yana Berden, “Social media become key campaign tool in midterm elections“
• Catherine Taibi, “Fox News Hosts Say Young People Shouldn’t Vote When ‘They Don’t Know The Issues‘”
• “What Will it Take to Inspire America’s Youth” (video discussion, hosted by Caroline Modarressy-Tehrani.)
• Khalil Abdullah, “‘Youth of Color’ Voting Still Critical in Competitive Political Races“
• “Understanding the Minority Millenial Vote Ahead of 2014 Midterms” (NBC News)
• Arnie Seipel, Millennial Voters Are Paying Attention — So Why Don’t More Vote? 

*added later in the evening.

The post the youth vote in the news appeared first on Peter Levine.