December 3 event at the Stanford Innovation Center Review:

Dec 3, 2025 10:00 AM in Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Many assume that young people turn out to vote at low rates, even when they are registered. But that is not the case. According to US Census data, more than 75 percent of registered youth turned out in every presidential election going back to 2004. The problem is tens of millions of Americans, including more than 10 million young people, are not registered to vote. And the gap is not an accident. It’s built into our current systems and institutions, which in most states simply do not have a goal of, and are not designed to achieve, universal registration for all Americans as they reach voting age.

“Getting Youth Engaged in Democracy” is the cover story for SSIR’s Winter 2026 issue and one of several articles in the issue that explore the intersection of democracy and civil society. In this live conversation, the article’s author, Laura W. Brill, will speak with SSIR deputy editor Bryan Maygers about her research on US voting patterns and legislature, voting interventions that target youth, and how this issue intersects with other challenges to democracy.