Poll: Most Americans participated in democracy this campaign season

New findings from the McCourtney Institute for Democracy’s latest Mood of the Nation poll show that a majority of Americans engaged in at least one type of political activity during this year’s election season.

Poll director and Penn State professor Eric Plutzer commented: “The fact that 6 out of 10 citizens were actively engaged in at least one activity suggests that citizen engagement is high and only a minority view elections as a spectator sport.”

Of the seven actions listed in the September 23-27 survey of 1,000 adults, the most common was sharing political messages online and then trying to convince someone else to vote.

While both the Trump and Harris campaigns claimed their own campaign events were large-scale — and tried to limit rallies hosted by their opponents — attending such events was lower on the list.

Participating in elections online and trying to convince others who to vote for is quite common

In general, online participation in the democratic process is more common than in-person involvement or participation through monetary contributions. One-third of adults have posted their own political message online, 2 in 5 have shared a political message online, and more than one-third have tried to persuade someone to change their vote online or in other ways.

Rates of online participation and attempts to convince others who to vote for are similar regardless of whether someone identifies as a Democrat or Republican or favors Vice President Harris or former President Trump in the election.

Fewer independent politicians and non-voters are engaging in the democratic process online or trying to convince others how to vote.

In terms of demographic groups, participation in the democratic process online was not higher among younger than older generations.

Instead, education appears to be most strongly associated with online political participation. Forty percent of people with a college degree posted their own political message online, compared with 29 percent of people with a high school diploma or less.

Nearly half of people with a college degree have tried to persuade someone to vote for another candidate, compared with just a quarter of people with a high school education or less.

People who shared a political message online were asked which platform or platforms they used. Facebook was by far the most popular, with two-thirds saying they used the platform. Nearly a quarter indicated they shared political content on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter), and a fifth said they shared political content on Instagram.

Almost a quarter say they have financially supported a political candidate

Twenty-three percent of U.S. adults said they had recently given money to “a candidate running for public office or a group working to elect a candidate,” and nearly one-fifth had recently given money to “a political organization focused on a specific specific cause.”

A larger share of Harris supporters than Trump supporters recently donated money to the campaign (32% vs. 24%), and the gap was even wider when it came to financial contributions to organizations (27% vs. 17%). Less than ten percent of nonvoters gave money to campaigns or causes.

In terms of demographic characteristics, the greatest differences in political participation through financial contributions result from education and income levels. About twice as many adults with a college degree made financial contributions as those without a college degree, and more than twice as many people in the highest income group made financial contributions as those in the lowest income group.

Fewer than 1 in 5 people attended rallies and protests

Even though the survey was conducted just six weeks before the presidential election, relatively few Americans indicate that they have recently become personally engaged in the political process by attending rallies or protests. Overall, 17 percent had attended a political rally or campaign event, and 13 percent indicated they had attended a protest or demonstration.

At the center of both major parties’ campaigns have been so-called “swing states,” where polls point to a particularly tight presidential race. While it would seem that residents of these states would have more opportunities to attend campaign rallies or events in person, only 14 percent of swing state residents said they had attended at least one rally or event, which is statistically tied to residents of other states. states.

Similar percentages of Harris and Trump supporters have attended political rallies, but a slightly larger percentage of Harris supporters indicate they have attended at least one protest or demonstration in the past six months (17% vs. 8%).

Taking demographics into account, the most noticeable difference in personal political participation is by generation, with about a quarter of the youngest generation, Gen Z, saying they have attended political rallies or campaign events AND attended a protest or demonstration in the last six months. By comparison, less than 1 in 10 Gen Xers report participating in these activities.

Plutzer noted: “The surprising finding is that younger Americans were not only more likely to participate in protests, but also more likely than their older counterparts to attend traditional campaign events. Despite their financial situation, many donated to candidates or causes. This suggests that Generation Z may become a particularly engaged generation in the future.”

Participation in various activities

Although 2 in 5 respondents indicated that they did not participate in any of the activities mentioned in the survey, the vast majority (3 in 5) engaged in the democratic process in at least one way. One third were engaged in at least three types of activities.

The number of different types of political activity that Americans engage in is very similar, regardless of whether they identify as Democrats or Republicans. A slightly higher percentage of Harris supporters than Trump supporters participated in at least three of the types of political activities listed in this study, but the difference is not dramatic (42% vs. 34%).

A more dramatic difference is between those who are affiliated with a major party and independents who are not, between those who plan to vote in the presidential election and those who are not, and between those who are at least moderately supportive of democracy and those who who are not. More than half of those otherwise unaffiliated with the political system did not engage in any of the seven political activities listed in this study.

Demographically, the most educated and highest-income groups tended to engage in the political process in a wider range of ways. Nearly half of respondents from these groups participated in three or more of the different types of political activities listed in the survey.

Detailed survey results, as well as a report on methodology and transparency can be found at: