1. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org The 2006 Civic and Political Health of the Nation Survey A Detailed Look at How Youth Participate in Politics and Communities Mark Hugo Lopez Karlo Barrios Marcelo Washington, D.C. October 3, 2006

2. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org Project Goal To measure civic engagement of young people ages 15 to 25 and adults To measure the attitudes of young people towards civic engagement, government, politics and elections, and tolerance

3. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org Presentation Outline A.Survey Background B.19 Core Indicators of Engagement C.Major Findings –Race and Ethnicity –Confidence in Government –Political Knowledge –Tolerance –Partisanship –Generation Uniqueness

4. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org The 2006 Civic and Political Health of the Nation Survey Conducted from April 27 to June 11 1,700 Young People ages 15 to 25 550 Adults 26 and older Over-samples of young Latinos, African- Americans, and Asian-Americans Margin of error ±2.6 percentage points Replication of 2002 CPHS by Keeter et. al.

5. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org

6. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org 19 Core Indicators of Engagement Civic Measures –Community problem solving –Regular Volunteering –Active Group Membership –Participation in fundraising run/walk/ride –Other fundraising Electoral Measures –Regular Voting –Persuading Others –Displaying buttons, signs, stickers –Campaign Contributions –Volunteering for a candidate or political organization

7. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org 19 Core Indicators of Engagement (contd) Indicators of Political Voice –Contacting Officials –Contacting the Print Media –Contacting the Broadcast Media –Protesting –Signed E-mail petitions –Signed Written petitions –Boycotting –Buycotting –Canvassing

8. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org There is Broad Engagement… Engagement among young people 15-25 –26% say they vote regularly –35% say they tried to persuade others –36% say they volunteered –30% boycotted –11% have protested in last year –On average 3.7 activities in past year –Over 80% have engaged in at least one activity

9. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org Five Most Common Activities

10. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org Five Most Common Activities

11. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org Yet some are disengaged 58% have done 1 or fewer electoral or civic activities in past year 17% have done none of 19 activities

12. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org A Typology of Engagement Among 15 to 25s Electoral Activities 0 or 12 or more Civic Activities 0 or 1 58%17% 2 or more 12%13% Disengaged Civic Specialist Electoral Specialist Dual Activist

13. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org How Do Youth and Adults Compare?

14. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org Major Findings: Race and Ethnicity African-Americans are the most POLITICALLY engaged Asian-Americans are highly engaged in civic activities Young Latinos are least engaged, however 25% have protested Young Whites are neither most nor least engaged

15. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org Civic Typology by Race/Ethnicity, Ages 15 to 25, 2006

16. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org

17. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org Confidence in Government is down Young people are more supportive of government than adults Two thirds believe government should do more to solve problems However: Plurality says that government is almost always wasteful and inefficient, up 19 points over 2002

18. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org Change in Confidence in Government 2002 and 2006 15 to 2526 and older

19. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org Change in Confidence in Government 2002 and 2006 15 to 2526 and older

20. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org Change in Confidence in Government 2002 and 2006 15 to 2526 and older

21. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org

22. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org Political Knowledge is Low 53% are unaware that only citizens can vote in federal elections Only 30% can correctly name at least one member of the Presidents Cabinet Only 34% know that the U.S. has a permanent seat on the UN Security Council

23. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org Most Engaged have Higher Level of Political Knowledge

24. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org Electoral Engagement and Political Knowledge

25. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org

26. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org Young People Are Tolerant But somewhat less so than 2002 Remain more favorable toward immigrants and gays than their elders 67% say they have confronted someone who said something they considered offensive, such as a racist or other prejudiced comment.

27. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org Acceptance of Gays 15 to 2526 and older

28. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org Acceptance of Immigrants 15 to 2526 and older

29. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org

30. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org Partisanship Since 2002, fewer young people lean towards the Republican Party –47% Democrat (no change) –28% Republican (3 point drop) –24% Independent (2 point gain)

31. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org 2002 and 2006 Partisanship 15 to 25 26 and older

32. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org

33. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org Fewer Young People See Their Generation as Unique 59% say their generation is unique (10 point drop) Among young people who are 19 to 29 today (and were 15 to 25 in 2002), 56% say their generation is unique today. This is down 13 points from 2002.

34. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org

35. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org Summary of Major Findings Young people are broadly engaged in their communities However a sizeable group is not engaged Young African-Americans are most politically engaged Though young Latinos report lowest engagement

36. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org Summary of Major Findings Political Knowledge is low, though the engaged exhibit more political knowledge Confidence in government is down Acceptance of gays and immigrants is lower today

37. Abby Kiesa Karlo Marcelo www.civicyouth.org