webinar

Youth Vote 2026- What Do We Know?

PAST EVENT
October 5, 2026

Nearly 50 million young people (ages 18-29) are eligible to vote in the 2026 midterms—a major potential force in shaping electoral outcomes and the future of our democracy. On October 5, GTY hosted a conversation with CIRCLE and the Alliance for Youth Action to discuss findings from a pre-election poll by CIRCLE and When We All Vote on Gen Z’s political views, attitudes, and civic engagement.

Top Takeaway

Engaging young people civically should not begin when they reach voting age. Civic engagement is built over years, through relationships with trusting adults and peers in communities and schools, through opportunities to envision and work for change, in spaces where young people feel they belong and are known and respected.

More Takeaways

  1. Gen Z is diverse – their needs and political views vary by race, education, gender, financial circumstances and other experiences.
  2. Members of Gen Z are often issue-based voters rather than voters aligned to a political identity or party. They believe the system is broken and are most concerned about corporate influence and money in politics. They are looking for different candidates, perhaps even different parties, who they feel represent them and are going to follow through on their promises.
  3. Cost of living is the top issue for young people right now. 60% of young people surveyed said that they sometimes or often have trouble meeting their basic financial needs. Young people are concerned about inflation, cost of living, housing and health care.
  4. Information about how and where to vote should be much more visible in spaces where young people are: at schools, campuses, social media, in community spaces.
  5. Building young people’s interest in civic engagement should start with community building, mutual aid and ‘third spaces’ where young people can meet each other, build trusted networks of peers and adults, and have fun.

Learn More

Slide Deck

Purpose of Education Fund: https://stuartfoundation.org/what-we-do/strategic-priorities/purpose-of-education-fund/

CIRCLE: https://circle.tufts.edu

Dispelling Myths about Youth Voting: https://circle.tufts.edu/understanding-youth-civic-engagement/dispelling-myths-about-youth-voting

Young Independents: Diverse, Disaffected, and Doubtful of their Vote’s Power: https://circle.tufts.edu/latest-research/young-independents-diverse-disaffected-and-doubtful-their-votes-power

What Can Philanthropy Do?

  1. Support civic education and youth leadership as core components of young people’s education and development.
  2. Invest in local youth-led or intergenerationally-led organizations that engage young people holistically over time, not just during election season.
  3. Fund efforts to increase young people’s access to voting information and reduce barriers to participation.
  4. Fund research that provides valuable information about young people’s experiences, beliefs and attitudes toward civic engagement.
  5. Understand that attitudes and behaviors related to civic engagement are impacted by financial hardship or other barriers to participation, and participate in/fund cross-sector work to improve young people’s quality of life.

Memorable Quotes

The Stuart Foundation’s Purpose of Education Fund supports preparing young people for civic life as a core purpose of the public education system – through youth voice and agency, ensuring students feel safe, heard, and empowered to bring their full selves to school as they develop civic knowledge and leadership.

—Kathryn Bradley, Stuart Foundation

Investing in young leaders is one of the best ways to reach young voters in this or any cycle. Engaging young voters happens in places and with people they trust – their peers, friends, families, communities. Young leaders know best how to reach their peers. We need to empower them and give them the resources to do it.

—Alberto Medina, CIRCLE

Our research shows that civic engagement is aligned with having a place you belong, where you feel seen and heard, where you have a voice, where you learn the skill set for civic dialogue. It doesn’t have to be a politically-based space – it can be a religious community, a sport-based group, a meetup that you go to and it happens over time. Having those conversations only before a national election is never going to create the wingspread of change that we want to see.

—Leela Strong, CIRCLE

I do this work to increase access to information, to help young people understand what their vote means, and to make that personal connection to it. A lot of people hear the word politics, and they think about Washington DC, not their local elections. I tell them – the city commissioners are the ones who affect your parents, your friends, your neighbors, your school, your job, your community. Every aspect of our day-to-day lives is political, whether you want to be part of it or not. When you make that personal connection, it gives them a sense of ownership to get involved.

—Faisal Gaitan, Engage Miami

I know a lot of young people who don’t feel like one political party represents everything they believe in. They don’t want to label themselves Democrat or Republican because they don’t want people around them to automatically assume what they believe about every single issue, just because of that one label.

—Charine Lomibao, Battle Born Futures

Contact the Speakers

If you’d like to follow up with any of these speakers, please reach out to GTY.

Speakers

Faisal Gaitan

Campus Coordinator, Engage Miami

I am a civic engagement organizer passionate about youth empowerment, community mobilization, and expanding access to the democratic process. Since beginning my canvassing work in 2020, I have developed a strong understanding of how to connect with communities, mobilize individuals, and encourage civic participation. Driven by a commitment to ensuring young people have the knowledge and resources to make their voices heard, I strive to make civic engagement more accessible, inclusive, and meaningful for students.

As Campus Coordinator at Engage Miami, I work to empower students to become active participants in their democracy. Since stepping into a coordinator role in 2024, I have helped register students to vote, broken down complex ballot measures into accessible information, and participated in campus events to provide students with voter resources and education. Through my work, I strive to bridge the gap between young people and the political process, equipping students with the information and confidence they need to make informed decisions and recognize the power of their voices

Charine Lomibao

Program Coordinator, Battle Born Futures

Charine Lomibao is a Program Coordinator with Battle Born Futures, where she supports youth organizing, civic engagement, and leadership development across Southern Nevada. She began her organizing journey in high school, where she first became involved in community advocacy and youth engagement. She later continued organizing with One APIA Nevada, working closely with the Filipino and AANHPI community, before joining Battle Born Futures.

Today, she works with college students and young organizers across Nevada to build campus programs, organize community events, and develop the next generation of youth leaders. Charine is also pursuing her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing at Nevada State University.

Alberto Medina

Communications Manager, CIRCLE

Alberto Medina leads CIRCLE’s communications and serves as lead author on CIRCLE’s analyses on young voters. Alberto began working with CIRCLE as Communications Specialist at the Tisch College of Civic Life—CIRCLE’s institutional home—where he led a variety of communications efforts and initiatives.

A graduate of Yale University, Alberto previously worked as a freelance writer and editor and at national newspapers in his native Puerto Rico. He is a commentator and advocate on Puerto Rico’s political status and a member of the boards of directors of Boricuas Unidos en la Diáspora and the Denver Urban Debate League.

Leela Strong

Newhouse Director, CIRCLE

Leela Strong is the Newhouse Director of the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tufts University’s Tisch College of Civic Life, overseeing research on youth civic participation. At CIRCLE, she directs research on voting trends, civic education, and policies affecting young Americans, informing advocates, educators, and policymakers.

Previously, as Global Director of Nike’s Made to Play Initiative, she managed Nike’s philanthropic strategy that reached 1.3 million children in 40+ countries. She led impact evaluation and advocacy efforts to increase equity in youth sports access. Earlier in her career, she held leadership roles in public health and humanitarian organizations, focusing on infectious disease prevention and community development. Strong holds a BA from Lafayette College, an MPH from Boston University, and executive certificates from Oxford’s Saïd Business School and Harvard Chan School of Public Health.

Selasi Tagbor Morales

Communications Manager, Alliance for Youth Action

Selasi Tagbor Morales is a communications strategist working at the intersection of youth organizing and narrative storytelling. Driven by a passion for lifting authentic narratives about marginalized communities and translating them across audiences for greater impact, she has made it her mission to ensure those stories are told and heard.

As Communications Manager at the Alliance for Youth Action, Selasi shapes the organization’s communications strategy and public voice, ensuring its storytelling reflects the power of the Network. Prior to the Alliance, she served as Communications Manager at Youth Rise Texas, where she led digital organizing and political education programs for Austin youth impacted by parental removal—deepening her expertise in engaging young people who don’t yet see themselves in the movement.

Presented by

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