Almost half of eligible young adults are unregistered or civically disengaged
The 2026 US midterms are approaching against a backdrop of growing political uncertainty, with young voters increasingly mobilizing around concerns about the country’s future. The Guardian reported that young voters have many of the same concerns as the larger voting cohort, even though many are not registered to vote. US Census Bureau data show that nearly 50 million Americans ages 18 to 29 are eligible to vote in the midterms, but almost half are unregistered or civically disengaged. Gen Z readers across the country highlighted the rising cost of living, federal immigration policies, the climate crisis, election interference and the rollback of civil rights as their biggest concerns.
The Guardian’s report included a photograph of a demonstrator holding a sign encouraging people to vote during a Blackout rally at Jackson State University on 7 October 2026 in Jackson, Mississippi. Photograph: Aron Smith/Jackson State University/Getty Images.
Financial pressures and time constraints could make civic participation difficult for some young readers. For a 25-year-old maintenance worker in Connecticut, the financial pressures of everyday life can make civic participation difficult. The worker said, “I do want to vote, but that depends on how accessible it is. If I have the time and energy I go out and vote. I do work a lot.” The worker also listed bills for a car, car insurance, rent, utilities, student loans and medical bills, saying, “It is hard to find time to do just about anything.”
Niamh Catterall, an 18-year-old university student from Texas currently studying in Ireland, said the election will mark her first vote and that she plans to cast her ballot by mail. Nathan, a 21-year-old computer science student in Texas, said he wishes more people his age voted.
Beyond the practical barriers to participation, policy concerns shaped the choices described by the readers. Tyler, a 24-year-old working at a community church in Richfield, Minnesota, said ICE, inflation and worries about Donald Trump’s military force were huge factors in his voting this year. He said he disliked seeing grocery prices increase amid what he called an unpopular and illegal war. Tyler said: “Fascism is taking hold and I want there to be some semblance of accountability, and I want to make sure that we actually have a real opposition party that we’re not seeing at the moment, aside from some candidates.”
Charlie, a 22-year-old library worker in Ohio, pointed to healthcare and affordability as the most important issues shaping the vote. Charlie said: “Advocating against universal healthcare indicates, to me, a deep disregard for the actual wellbeing of the American people. Also, the wealth disparity in the US is astronomical, so advocating for a greater tax on the ultra-wealthy is important to me as well. People who have to work to survive are doing so poorly right now, all I want is to see life become affordable again.”
The Guardian’s report included a photograph captioned “Emily from central Illinois. Photograph: Courtesy of Emily.” Emily, a 28-year-old living in central Illinois, identified artificial intelligence, Israel’s war on Gaza and ICE as among the biggest concerns shaping the political landscape. Emily said: “Our refusal to acknowledge the cruelty and absurdity of this administration has normalized it into our culture, if it wasn’t there already. Any attempt to criticize it is shot down with claims of hysteria or wokeness. Our … participation in this modern propaganda will have lasting impacts. I am deeply concerned how the world looks at us, and how we will look back at ourselves.” Looking ahead, she hoped to see “any politician that looks like they actually have a backbone and won’t just tweet that someone should do something about this.”
The climate crisis and immigration enforcement also shaped how young voters viewed the election. Matthew Doutt, a 26-year-old accountant in Knoxville, Tennessee, said the administration had done “deep damages to the guardrails meant to defend against climate change” and that “we need someone – anyone – to get us back on track.” Doutt said he lived in a conservative, heavily gerrymandered state where no candidate stood out in a positive way. He also raised concerns about federal immigration agents at polling locations. Doutt said Tennessee was one of several states that had partnered with ICE for local enforcement and that he expected to see ICE at polling locations to supposedly prevent undocumented immigrants from voting, but expected it to be more about intimidating liberals.
Election integrity and party trust formed a separate set of concerns. Students listened as Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Crowley spoke at the University of Wisconsin on 20 October 2026 in Madison. Photograph: Scott Olson/Getty Images. Tyler said that even a Democratic victory would not necessarily ease concerns about election integrity, warning of “some trickery and subversion of results or another version of January 6.”
The Connecticut worker also said a lack of confidence in either party could make deciding how to vote difficult. The worker said: “The problem is I am worried that if I vote, I will vote wrong because I don’t really trust any of the people up for office.” The worker did not want to vote for a Republican or Connecticut governor Ned Lamont, saying Lamont’s track record of doing what he said he would, even trying, was not very good and that he had put more money into corporate pockets than into the working class. The worker also worried that any meaningfully good legislation would carry unwanted provisions for communities and that money would blind every politician in the race so none would have actual integrity.
State-level needs and campaigns in Texas also shaped the readers’ priorities. The Guardian’s report included a photograph captioned “Niamh Catterall from Texas. Photograph: Courtesy of Niamh Catterall.” Catterall’s concerns included the war, cost of living, protections for minorities and immigrants, and separation of church and state. She said she was hopeful of a break from party politics and a renewed focus on how a candidate can help a society or individual. She said the platforms of candidates she supports, including Gina Hinojosa and James Talarico, go beyond experience or big-picture federal politics such as alignment with Trump and instead focus on what groups within Texas need, including healthcare and cost of living. Nathan said LGBTQ+ rights and datacenter expansions were key issues amid the performances of Democratic candidates in the state. He said, “It really excites me to see how well Talarico is doing! The idea of a blue Texas is mind-blowing to me.” He added that Democratic candidates in southern states almost always lose.
Expectations for governing outcomes also cut across party lines. Scott, a 29-year-old software engineer in Washington who had already voted, said, “I’m extremely concerned with the lack of leadership from both parties, but especially with the imminent harm from the Republican party, and Trump in particular.” He said, “This level of corruption is unprecedented and unacceptable.” Although his state was not competitive on the national stage, Scott said voting was at least something he could do. He also described a growing sense of economic and political uncertainty among young Americans and frustration with what he saw as a lack of a compelling vision from Democrats.
Another dated image showed a man at a Fighting for Toledo election rally on 29 October 2026 in Ohio. Photograph: Michael M Santiago/Getty Images. Scott said his career went from a sure thing to unknown in less than 10 years, leaving him emotionally raw and very tired. Scott said he and many others, especially people his age, were not optimistic about the future. His biggest concern was that Democrats would not rally behind a unifying, coherent vision for the future that people could get excited about. Scott said he had heard Democrats say they needed a vision for years and needed one now. The vision did not need to be perfect and could contain unknowns, Scott said, but it needed to be something the vast majority of Americans could rally behind.
Connor Long, a 29-year-old remote sales representative in Orlando, Florida, said he was “excited to see how this election is shaping up but am leery of the data we are seeing.” He identified polling errors and election certification issues as his top two concerns. Long said: “We’ve seen Republicans try this before and with complete control of Congress I am concerned of other attempts they could make.” He also worried that Democrats would underdeliver if they took the House and Senate. Long said he was realistic about gridlock under a Democratic Congress led by Trump, but feared that if not enough was done, a Democratic Congress would not be given the chance to make the major systemic changes most Americans were looking for.
Taken together, the responses connect practical barriers to voting with deeper distrust in political institutions. Readers named different priorities, but many described affordability and immigration enforcement as immediate concerns, while election integrity and party credibility were separate, persistent worries. Several also said they lacked confidence that either party would deliver because of gridlock, corporate influence, insufficient vision or fears that partisan conflict would block desired legislation.