WASHINGTON — In the height 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 were careful to be polite rather than polarizing.
Participants in America in One Room: Voices of Youth, organized by Stanford political scientists and other sponsors, will include Democrat Kendall Renee Martin of California, who will turn 18 in November; Tyler Kunkowski, 18, Florida Republican; Emily Criswell, 18, leaning left from rural Tennessee; and Steven Dilts, 19, of Alaska, also leaning left.
A survey of first-time voters, released Monday after the four-day event, found that during the four days they were closer to each other on controversial issues, more respectful of differing opinions and more loyal voters after the days of dialogue.
The meeting was fictional consultation request where participants were randomly selected to produce a representative sample of young voters from all nationalities. The goal was to discuss issues, hear from policy experts, and foster a better conversation about American politics.
There was past “America in a Room” studies of the general electorate, but it was the first to specifically examine young voters.
“We’re doing democracy here, and it’s actually working,” said Henry Elkus, founder and CEO of Helena, one of the other organizers and partners of the gathering. “I don’t see any ad hominem attacks. I do not see the division as shown on our television screen. And I don’t see a different representative of politics than the media.”
“I see an actual working democracy,” Elkus said. “And it’s the generation that will determine that.”
The gathering comes a week after the assassination attempt on Donald Trump and in the midst of President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 race.
But the goal was to discuss the issues, not the candidates.
“When a candidate is gone, you have to face the problem,” Elkus said.
‘I’m OK with it’: Approaching controversial issues
For the first time, voters spent a weekend debating issues such as the environment, the economy and health care in small groups. They heard from political experts from across the ideological spectrum, toured monuments in the nation’s capital and even attended a Major League Baseball game.
According to the results of the survey conducted before and after the meeting, young voters came closer to each other on several controversial issues – both from the right and from the left.
For example, on climate and energy issues, the share of first-time voters who believe the United States will achieve energy independence increased from 62% before the meeting to 76% after.
The share of respondents who oppose the elimination of sales of new gas and diesel vehicles by 2035 rose to 59%, up from 45% previously.
The share of young voters opposed to drilling in the Arctic desert rose to 76%, up from 72% previously.
“Living in the arctic wilderness, I’m very against it,” said Stephen, a young voter from Alaska, during one of the environmental debates.
Tyler, a Republican from Florida, said he believes in climate change but is skeptical about the feasibility of international agreements like the Paris climate accord. He added that he would only support drilling in the Arctic in the event of a national emergency such as war.
“I’m fine with that,” Stephen replied.
“I’m surprised that everyone in this room agrees that this is an issue,” Stephen said at the end of the discussion, addressing the broader issue of tackling climate change.
“It’s harder to insult someone because we want to be liked. People are good by nature,” concluded Elkus, one of the organizers. “Online discourse, comment sections—it allows us to be inhuman.”
“This is a human process. Democracy requires human interaction. This is what we do here,” he said.
‘I see the point’: Young voters show greater respect for dissent
The poll also found that these younger voters are more respectful of dissenting views, with the share of participants saying there are good reasons for their opponents’ positions rising from 64% before the event to 71% after the event.
During the debate over raising the minimum wage, Tyler argued that a college-educated bank employee should not be paid the same as a worker at McDonald’s.
Emily, from rural Tennessee, disagreed: “It’s not an attack on you,” she said. “Not everyone can go to college”
Tyler said a college degree is an investment for a higher salary in the future.
“I see the point,” Emily replied. “But you don’t have to go to college to be successful.”
“The people who came to ‘America in a Room’ were very politically aware and very knowledgeable about what they were talking about, so I valued and respected every single one of their opinions,” Tyler said in an interview with NBC News.
“Despite the intense debate, which surprised me, there was not a single moment of hostility,” said Kendall, a Democrat from California. “Being in that environment gave me a lot of hope for the future of our country and inspired me to develop myself further.”
“I left even more motivated to vote”
A before-and-after survey of young voters recruited also showed stronger satisfaction with American democracy.
Before the meeting, 29% said they were somewhat or very satisfied with the way democracy works in the United States. After the event, it doubled to 58%.
The researchers behind the “America in One Room” debates also found that participants were more committed to voting than a control group of young voters who did not attend the gathering in DC.
“I left with a stronger passion to vote and talk about current and social issues,” said Kendall, of California.
“They came from all over the country — red states, blue states, urban and rural,” said James Fishkin, a Stanford political scientist who pioneered the debate’s America in a Room experiments.
“However, their divisions are not insurmountable,” he said. “And instead of triggering each other, they listened respectfully and saw the essence of what people with whom they most strongly disagreed with said.”