A recent study revealed that community college students who take political science classes are more likely to register to vote, turn out to vote, and understand constitutional checks and balances.
As a political science professor who cares deeply about civic health, political competence, and improving disparities in voter turnout, this finding is good news for democracy. It showcases how higher education can and does contribute to improving civic engagement among undergraduates. And while this community college data remains promising, it would be of great value to extend its coverage to four-year colleges and universities, for many leaders and political ideas emerge from institutions of higher education as well.
Fortunately, new data from College Pulse supports the findings of the community college survey. Released this September, this survey sampled over 1,500 college students nationally. The data show that some widely held understandings about political participation, such as disparities in participation by race and socio-economic status, are not true among college and university students whatsoever. Moreover, the data confirm that social science majors are more likely to be registered voters than non-social science majors, suggesting that students’ academic focus may have some impact on their political behavior. The data also reveals that seventy percent of student respondents are currently registered to vote. Even after the highly contentious 2020 election and record-high levels of engagement and turnout, 30 percent of students are not registered to vote as of the fall of 2021.
Breaking these data down, some important findings emerge. The first is that partisanship turnout differences are not huge. Students who identify as Democratic are only a bit more likely to be registered to vote compared to other partisan identifications. About three-quarters (76 percent) of Democratic identifiers are registered to vote compared to 71 percent of Republicans and 67 percent of Independents.
Another notable finding is that despite popular narratives, socio-economic differences in voter registration rates are minimal. Seventy-two percent of self-reported upper class and 66 percent of upper middle class students report being registered to vote, while 72 percent of middle class students report the same. Seventy percent of self-reported lower class and 69 percent of working class students also report being registered.
Moreover, when race and ethnicity are considered, black students are more likely to be registered to vote than their white counterparts. Eighty percent of black students are registered to vote compared to 71 percent of white students and 67 percent of Hispanic and Latino students. Only half (50 percent) of Asian students are registered to vote, supporting previous findings which suggest low political engagement among Asian Americans.
Nonetheless, it is clear that class and race-based disparities in voting are not nearly as problematic as they are often presented on social media and in mainstream news sources. This narrative needs to be corrected. Students have access to the ballot and significant numbers registered to vote in 2020.
Some differences in registration do emerge between colleges and universities. Eight in 10 (80 percent) college students are registered to vote compared to almost seven in 10 (69 percent) of those in universities. This is unsurprising, because college students tend to be more politically active than university students on issues like cancel culture and free speech. Additionally, 75 percent of students at private schools are registered to vote compared to 68 percent of those in public schools.
Finally, the data show real differences in voter registration between fields of study. While about two-thirds of business (64 percent), pre-Med, fitness, and health-related fields (67 percent), and computer science and engineering (67 percent) majors report being registered to vote, students in other fields of study report higher numbers. Students in the humanities, arts, and area studies (such as gender and ethnic studies) are marginally higher at 69 percent; biology, environmental studies, and earth sciences, fields that have become heavily politicized, are at 73 percent. Those studying economics and social sciences have the highest registration rates, with three-quarters (75 percent) saying they are registered to vote.
Sadly, the data does not contain any measures that might help us better understand the reasons why some students are registered to vote and others are not. Nonetheless, these findings add to a larger discourse about political participation among Gen Z students. The empirical reality shows that disparities in voter registration among racial and income groups are not as widespread among today’s four-year students as many have been led to believe. Real differences, however, exist between fields of study. Students in fields that focus on civic behavior and communal development, such as economics and social sciences, are more likely to be registered to vote than those in other fields of study. These findings should give us cause for optimism. It is good news that so many students are learning to see the value of being an active part of the polity.
Samuel J. Abrams is a professor of politics at Sarah Lawrence College and a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute
