'We are doing democracy here': Young voters focus on being polite rather than polarized
In the heat of campaign season, hundreds of first-time voters gathered to discuss politics and the election — with a focus on politeness over polarization.
WASHINGTON — In the heat of the 2024 campaign season, more than 400 first-time voters from across the country gathered here in July to discuss political issues and the upcoming election — but with a focus on being polite rather than being polarized.
The participants in “America in One Room: The Youth Vote,” an event organized by Stanford political scientists and other sponsors, included Kendall Rene Martin, who will be 18 in November, a Democrat from California; Tyler Kunkowski, 18, a Republican from Florida; Emily Criswell, 18, who leans left, from rural Tennessee; and Steven Dilts, 19, who also leans left, from Alaska.
After the four-day event, a poll of these first-time voters released on Monday found that in those four days they moved closer together on contentious issues, developed more respect of differing views and became more committed voters after the days of dialogue.
The gathering was a so-called deliberative poll where the participants were randomly selected to produce a representative sample of young voters from the entire nation. The purpose was to discuss the issues, hear from policy experts and foster a better conversation on American politics.
There have been past “America in One Room” studies of the general electorate, but this was the first to specifically examine first-time young voters.
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