Spotlight on Pennsylvania – In big elections registered youth turn out at high rates
Executive Summary
This data report is the latest in a series of reports issued by The Civics Center to draw attention to barriers to equal participation that young people face as they come of age.
One of our most significant findings has been that in big elections, registered youth turn out to vote at high rates. Many people believe the opposite. Dispelling the myths can help to establish voting as a norm, improving the likelihood that all youth will register and turn out.
To date, most of our turnout findings have been based on data from the US Census. We now have access to voter file data for most states across the country, which are more reliable in reflecting turnout than Census data.
With Pennsylvania as an initial example, and focusing on statewide general elections going back to 2018, we can find that in presidential elections, the rate of turnout among registered 18-year-olds is virtually indistinguishable from the rate for Pennsylvanians 45-79. In midterms, the differential has been greater (10-13 percentage points), but still, more than 60% of registered 18-year-olds turned out in both 2018 and 2022.
Communities can make enormous strides through youth-centered efforts to help students understand the importance of voting, the mechanics for registering, and can create traditions to facilitate both. Appreciating that registered youth turnout at high rates is critical to breaking the cycle of low youth turnout.
Process and Findings
The Civics Center tracks voting participation rates for 18-year-olds.
We launched a visualization portal showing rates in 6 states and the counties of these states in October, 2025. The results for those states, including Pennsylvania, are collected at data.thecivicscenter.org.
This is our first report focusing on turnout among registered 18-year-olds across multiple election cycles. The report is based on current and historical voter file data for the state of Pennsylvania going back to the 2018 general election.
Key findings are as follows:
Voting is the norm, not the exception, for registered 18-year-olds in major elections in Pennsylvania.
In the last two presidential elections, more than 80% of registered 18-year-olds voted.
In the last two midterms, more than 60% of registered 18-year-olds voted.
The differential between turnout among registered 18-year-olds and older registered voters (45-79) is less than 5 percentage points in presidential years and less than 15 percentage points in midterms.
Analysis and recommendations for the field
The narrative that young people do not turn out to vote can suppress youth turnout and diminish efforts to help young people connect with democracy. Research from Alan Gerber and Todd Rogers revealed, in contrast, that fostering social norms of participation can increase turnout. See Alan S. Gerber and Todd Rogers (2009). Descriptive Social Norms and Motivation to Vote: Everybody's Voting and So Should You, Journal of Politics71(1), 178-191.
Our results use voter file data from salient elections over multiple cycles and can help to counterbalance discouraging narratives about youth turnout.
Communities that want to encourage youth turnout can use our results in multiple ways, including sharing on social media, incorporating discussion about youth turnout in family and community dialogues, and encouraging youth to be ambassadors to their friends. Because interpersonal influence is a significant contributor to voting behavior, outreach efforts aimed at parents and educators to inform them of high turnout among registered youth may have beneficial spillover effects to teens. See generally, David W. Nickerson, Is Voting Contagious? Evidence from Two Field Experiments (2008) American Political Science Review 102(1), 49-57.
When young people feel that turnout is an expectation, then they themselves can dispel negative stereotypes and contribute to a culture in which voting is a norm and in which young voters appreciate that they and their peers can make a difference.