How To Get Young People To Buy Into Your Campaignand Cause.

They're not apathetic. They're disappointed. Here's the gap, and here's how you close it.

If you're a progressive candidate running for state legislature, county council, or city office, you've probably heard some version of this: "Young people just don't vote." Maybe you've even said it yourself while deciding where to spend limited time and budget.

Here's what's true: young voter turnout is lower than other age groups. But writing off 18-to-34-year-olds is a losing long-term strategy. The data says the conventional wisdom about why they don't show up is flat wrong.

The Myth of Youth Voter Apathy

The biggest misconception in campaign strategy right now is that young people have checked out. ReCenter Indiana, a nonpartisan nonprofit, conducted a robust study in late 2024 surveying 18-to-34-year-old registered voters in Central Indiana who did not vote in the presidential election. They partnered with two DC-based research firms (one typically working with Republicans, one with Democrats) and combined focus groups with survey data. As ReCenter Indiana Executive Director Jocelyn Vare put it: "They are not apathetic. They really, really care. But they are very distrustful of government, very distrustful of political parties, completely disappointed."

Only 9% of the non-voters surveyed said they were simply not interested. That means over 90% of young people who skipped the election still cared about what was happening in their communities and their country. They just didn't believe the system was delivering for them.

The Spring 2025 Harvard Youth Poll found that only 15% of Americans under 30 believe the country is heading in the right direction. This isn't apathy. It's disappointment. And if your campaign strategy treats these two things as the same, you will miss the opportunity sitting right in front of you.

The Numbers That Should Change Your Strategy

Let's be honest about what is working and what is not.

CIRCLE's final estimate puts 2024 youth voter turnout nationally at 47%, slightly lower than the historic 50% in 2020 but significantly higher than the 39% in 2016. The trend line is moving in the right direction, just not fast enough. And the disparities are enormous: turnout ranged from 58% among young white women down to 25% among young Black men.

In Indiana specifically, ReCenter Indiana's study found that only 39% of young Hoosiers voted in the 2024 presidential election, well below the national average. Over 1.8 million registered Hoosiers sat out entirely.

Here's the part that should get your attention if you're running a down-ballot race: in Indiana's 2022 and 2024 state house races, three seats were lost by margins of 810, 333, and 242 votes. When tens of thousands of young voters in your area are registered, care about the issues, and stayed home, those margins are not destiny. They're a strategic failure you can fix.

What Young Voters Actually Want

ReCenter Indiana's study and Count Us In's civic engagement survey both pointed to the same core findings. Young people want:

Candidates who are genuine. Not polished. Not performing. Genuine. As Vare described it, "They want candidates who seem genuine, who seem honest. They want to have trust in these candidates."

Someone who talks about what matters to them. Affordability is the top issue, by a wide margin. Housing, groceries, wages, student debt. If your campaign leads with abstract policy language or partisan labels, young adults will tune out.

An invitation, not an obligation. Vare noted that 45% of the non-voters in their study had never voted before, ever. They didn't skip the election out of laziness. Many didn't even know early voting existed.

Community, not isolation. When asked the best way to get their voice heard, the number one answer from young non-voters was protests, not voting. Voting ranked low. Why? Because protests feel like a collective experience. They feel like community. As Vare explained, "What if we shifted the narrative so that voting was not an individual activity, like going to the dentist, but instead was a community activity?"

Four Things You Can Do Right Now

Your goals decide your plan. So here are four concrete moves that turn this data into weekly actions for your campaign.

1. Meet Them on Social Media (For Real This Time)

CIRCLE found that 77% of young people named at least one social media platform or YouTube among their top three information sources. According to Pew, over 40% of Americans aged 18-29 say their primary news source is social media.

Digital is part of the field, not a side project. If you think you're going to reach young voters through broadcast TV or your campaign website alone, you're operating from an outdated playbook.

This doesn't mean you need to become a content creator overnight. As Mary Noone put it: "When you get on those platforms, it's not about you. Center the community you're trying to reach, bring them into the conversation, go interview young folks, find out what matters to them."

The key insight from Vare: "Reach out to young adults to coach you. They know and they can provide you that confidence to articulate your message clearly and use the tools that are available to you." You don't need to be perfect. You need to be real.

2. Make Voting Feel Like a Community Event

If young people rank protests higher than voting as a way to be heard, the problem isn't their values. It's the framing. Protests feel collective. Voting feels lonely.

Your campaign can change that. Organize group voting outings. Partner with local organizations to set up community events around early voting. Get a food truck. Make the act of voting a shared experience, not a solo errand.

Henderson shared a great example: "We actually hosted a Joy to the Polls event a few years ago, and I think it was a really big hit with the community. Ice cream trucks, joy, and just education."

This is not a gimmick. This is strategy. When voting becomes a community activity, it builds the kind of trust and connection that turns one-time voters into consistent participants.

3. Educate on the Basics (Don't Assume They Know)

Nearly half of the young non-voters in ReCenter Indiana's study had never voted before. Many didn't know early voting was an option. They thought they had one shot, on one day, during a 12-hour window, while managing jobs, school, and family.

Vare was clear: "Please do not expect that these young adults have ever come to the polls before. Voting 101 provides that confidence that you can do this even if it's your first time."

Nationally, CIRCLE found that 12% of unregistered young people didn't know how to register or had problems with forms, and 31% were too busy or missed the deadline. These are fixable problems.

At every event, every door knock, every social media post: remind people to check their voter registration (especially if they've moved), explain early voting options, and walk them through what election day actually looks like.

4. Build Relationships Before You Need Votes

This is the hard call, and it's the right one. You cannot show up six weeks before an election and expect young voters to trust you. The candidates who win this demographic are the ones who are already embedded in the community, solving real problems, and building real relationships.

As Mary Noone emphasized: "What is happening in your community that needs solving now? Can you get involved in that process and bring change about now? Because that's what people want. They want a new town pool. They want a community center. They want transportation."

Serve the community first. The votes follow.

The Long Game Is the Only Game

If you're in a district where Democrats lost 85-15 last cycle, engaging young voters probably won't flip the seat this year. But that's not the only way to define winning.

Vare put it simply: "Even if next time 85-15 turns to 80-20, that's progress."

Every young voter you bring into the process may vote in the next five, ten, twenty elections. Every relationship you build is part of a bench of engaged citizens who will carry progressive causes forward long after your race is over. We're not adding tactics. We're building a system.

Young people care. They want to participate. They are waiting for candidates who will be honest, talk about the issues that affect their daily lives, and invite them in. Do that, and they will show up.

FAQ: Engaging Young Voters in Your Campaign

Are young voters really apathetic about politics?

No. ReCenter Indiana's study found only 9% of young non-voters said they were uninterested. The real barriers are distrust in institutions, lack of information about voting mechanics, and feeling like their vote won't make a difference.

What issues matter most to young voters right now?

Affordability dominates. Housing costs, grocery prices, student debt, and wages are the top concerns. According to CIRCLE, 40% of young voters chose the economy and jobs as their top priority in the 2024 election, far outpacing any other issue.

Where do young voters get their news?

CIRCLE found that 77% of young Americans named at least one social media platform or YouTube among their top three news sources. Pew Research found that 37% of adults under 30 regularly get news from influencers. TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube are essential platforms for reaching this demographic.

How do I use TikTok or Instagram without looking unprofessional?

Don't aim for perfection. Aim for authenticity. Show up as yourself, talk about the issues that affect your community, and let young people coach you on how to use the platforms. Center the community in your content instead of centering yourself.

What's the most effective way to increase youth turnout locally?

Combine three approaches: educate on voting basics (early voting, registration, what to expect), make voting a community event rather than a solo activity, and build relationships well before election season. Partnering with local nonprofits focused on civic engagement multiplies your reach.

Should I invest campaign resources in young voters if they historically don't turn out?

Yes. Young people are the second-largest voting age group in many states. Races are often decided by hundreds of votes. Even modest increases in youth turnout can shift outcomes in competitive districts. Every young voter you engage today is a potential supporter for years to come.