Feature
Navigating Democracy’s Next Chapter at the “Founding Futures” Conference
Ash Center Fellow Jon Alexander joined a diverse group of speakers at TED Democracy Philadelphia to share bold ideas for revitalizing modern democracy.
Policy Brief
The 2024 Presidential Election: The Broken Bond Between Youth and Democracy
The 2024 election saw Donald Trump make significant gains among young voters, increasing his support among 18- to 29-year-olds by 10 percentage points. This report aims to investigate the deeper issues at stake that are causing this historical shift.
By:
-
![]()
Melina Geser-Stark
Programs
Issues
In the 2024 election, Donald Trump made notable gains among young voters, increasing his support among 18- to 29-year-olds by 10 percentage points—the highest level of youth backing for a Republican presidential candidate since 2008. At first glance, this shift may suggest that young people are trending politically right. But that interpretation overlooks deeper, relational dynamics at the core of democratic engagement. Many young voters feel increasingly disillusioned with a political system they see as ineffective and disconnected from their lived experiences. This report explores the underlying forces driving this historic change.
Melina Geser-Stark is a Research Assistant at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and do not necessarily represent the positions of the Ash Center or its affiliates.
Related Resources
Feature
Reimagining Democracy 2026 Summer Reading List
Tova Wang, director of research projects in democratic practice at the Ash Center, shares her top picks for summer reads focused on making democracy more resilient, responsive, and inclusive.
Podcast
Terms of Engagement – The Battle for the Democratic Party
What does the rise of Democratic Socialists and other progessives mean for the future of American politics? Henry Olsen, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and a conservative commentator, joins Terms of Engagement hosts Archon Fung and Stephen Richer to discuss.
Feature
Navigating Democracy’s Next Chapter at the “Founding Futures” Conference
Ash Center Fellow Jon Alexander joined a diverse group of speakers at TED Democracy Philadelphia to share bold ideas for revitalizing modern democracy.
Feature
Reimagining Democracy 2026 Summer Reading List
Tova Wang, director of research projects in democratic practice at the Ash Center, shares her top picks for summer reads focused on making democracy more resilient, responsive, and inclusive.
Commentary
Allen Lab Fellow Spotlight: City Charters Are Deliberative Democracy’s Friends
Allen Lab Fellow Tyler Fisher examines the untapped potential of city charters as a vehicle for deliberative democracy, arguing that advocates should work to embed tools like citizen assemblies, participatory budgeting, and town meetings directly into the governing architecture of cities, institutionalizing deliberative democracy one municipality at a time.