Young voters in rural areas continue to feel ignored in politics as the presidential election intensifies, according to research this spring from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE).

Described as the least contacted and most undecided demographic by the Rural Youth Voter Fund, young voters in rural areas' participation in the upcoming presidential elections could be critical in deciding the next four years and beyond. In swing states during the 2022 midterm elections, youth made up 10% to 15% of all votes cast, according to CIRCLE, large enough to change outcomes.

“There’s this huge opportunity to engage with young people [and] to give them the opportunities to learn more about the system and make their mark,” said Michael Chameides, communications director of the Rural Democracy Initiative, which helped to create the Voter Fund.

The Voter Fund supports local youth-led initiatives and brings together leaders interested in civic engagement. Chameides noted the most successful initiatives are relationship-focused and allow young voters in rural areas to become leaders and reach their peers. Initiative projects are also dependent and modeled on their local communities and relatability, based in schools and popular events.

“You have leaders who genuinely care about the people around them and instill an organizational passion for supporting other people and building those relationships,” Chameides said. “They’re using language that resonates with their peers and makes sense to their peers and feels natural. A lot of people are driven by a certain desire to make their lives better and to make their families’ lives better and make their community’s lives better … In a lot of communities, skating is really popular, and so maybe there’s skate to the poll events. Knowing your audience and doing things that are both fun and meaningful is really powerful.”

Having places to engage in issues is crucial for turnout, according to suggestions for the empowerment of young voters in rural areas by CIRCLE. Although civic information access is similar across geographic regions, young voters in rural areas were less likely to feel there were comfortable places to engage with that information. That lack of support for young voters in rural areas translated into lower voter turnout: rural youth – aged 18 to 29 – voter turnout was 44% in rural counties compared to 52% in urban counties, according to the spring research from CIRCLE.

Read the full article about young voters in rural communities by Lucy Tobier at The Daily Yonder.