Commentary

Study: America's Young Voters Say Major Government Reforms Are Needed But Unobtainable

More than half (56%) of voters ages 18-29 think America’s system of government needs major reforms or a complete overhaul, according to a new report from the Ad Council Research Institute and MTV Entertainment Studios. Those who lean left point to voter suppression, gerrymandering and the Supreme Court, per the report, while those on the right conform to the stolen-election narrative.

And, even more pessimistically, 70% of young voters believe America’s political system is too divided to solve its problems.

The ACRI and MTV Entertainment Studios unveiled initial findings today from the joint research project that is designed to unpack voting attitudes and perceptions among younger Millennials and voting-age Gen Z Americans.

With midterm elections later this year the partners on the study hope it will shed light on what young people know about voting, what motivates them to go to the polls and what turnout might be expected in November from the voters that now make up nearly a third of the electorate.

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Today’s findings are the first phase of the Messaging Young Voters in the 2022 Midterms Report. The next phase of the study will be released in the fall.

ACRI and MTV say they hope that brands and nonprofits alike will find the research useful as they plan and activate get-out- the- vote efforts in the coming months.

 “While both the 2018 midterm and 2020 presidential elections broke records for youth voter turnout, there was a discrepancy between those who were registered and actual turnout – we need to solve for how to close that gap,” said Brianna Cayo Cotter, SVP of Social Impact for Paramount Media Networks & MTV Entertainment Studios. “

The complete report and findings released today can be accessed here.

 

 

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