Democrats lost majorities in two House chambers, Michigan and Minnesota, and now control 39 chambers to the 41 they held prior to the election.
Across states, Republicans netted 50 seats, below the average of 78 in presidential election years, and Democrats made gains in Montana and Wisconsin.
Trifectas, with unified party control of the governorship and both legislative chambers, exist in 38 states—23 Republican and 15 Democratic—leaving 12 states with divided control.
Four chief state school officers were elected. Incumbents and established champions of civic learning Kirsten Baesler (R-ND) and Chris Reykdal (D-WA) were joined by newcomers Susie Hedalen (R-MT) and Maurice Green (D-NC).
Additionally, voters weighed in on 50 state school board seats across nine states, yielding 27 new members and returning 23 incumbents.
Opportunities Abound for Civics in the New Year As state legislators pre-file bills for the coming spring session, NCSL identified common themes in education policy, including still-depressed student attendance and learning loss since the pandemic, and personalized and relevant student learning opportunities. Comprehensive civic learning not only motivates students to attend school consistently, but also propels literacy gains, alongside fostering civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions.
In partnership with our State Policy Task Force and CivxNow State Affiliates, we anticipate opportunities to advance key priorities from the CivxNow State Policy Menu in the coming biennium, including appropriations for teacher professional learning, civic seals, and middle school civics course requirements.
Celebrating Our Coalition and Preparing for the Work Ahead As we look ahead to the new year, the CivxNow Coalition has much to celebrate among its 360+ members. Since 2021, 24 states adopted 38 policies to strengthen K–12 civic education, and Congress quadrupled federal funding for civics. Our collective work begins in the new year with challenges and opportunities alike. Know that we are deeply appreciative of your commitment to students’ civic development and wish you and yours the happiest of holidays.
Research Roundup: Turnout Down Among Young Voters
Young voter (18–29 year olds) turnout fell from 50%+ in 2020 to 42% in the 2024 election, according to preliminary analysis from CivxNow partner CIRCLE, the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.
Vice President Kamala Harris performed best among young voters versus other age groups, but the four-percent margin (51–47%) was far closer than Joe Biden’s 25-percent lead over Donald Trump in 2020. Trump’s reelection is a result of multiple factors, including significant gains with young voters.
Parsing the data further:
Trump outperformed his 2020 results among young voters in all but three states (Indiana, Maine, and Wisconsin), and while still losing among young voters to Harris in swing states, the margins were much narrower.
Much was made about the gender gap in the overall electorate, and it was even larger among young voters, with women favoring Harris by 17 percent and men backing Trump by 14 percent.
Young voters of color favored Harris by decisive margins (50% for Black youth, 49% for Asian youth, and 17% for Latino/a youth), but Trump led by 10% among White youth.
Trump won high school graduates by 12 percent, while Harris led among those with some college and college graduates by 12 and 13 percent, respectively.
Trump won young rural voters by 22% while Harris won young suburban and urban voters by 13% and 24%, respectively.
The economy topped the list of issues driving support for Trump, as did immigration.
Harris performed best among voters prioritizing abortion and health care.
Finally, the youth electorate in 2024 was nine percent more Republican and seven percent less Democratic than in 2020; similarly, it was four percent more conservative and three percent less liberal.
CivxNow coalition member Campus Compact is a national coalition of colleges and universities committed to the public purposes of higher education
Campus Compact’s comprehensive approach, supported by events, programs, opportunities, and resources, helps higher education leaders, faculty, and students make tangible gains in developing knowledge, skills, and the capacity to make a difference in community and civic engagement.
104th National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) Annual Conference
“The one thing I want you to take away today is that this is the time to make a proactive case. This is not the time to play defense. We have to convince Americans that civics is good for their kids because they are going to live in a complex, nuanced, global world—and they need the skills to do so.” —iCivics CEO Louise Dubé during her NCSS panel “Vital Issue Session: The State of Social Studies Education: What Our Many Voices Can Do Together”
National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC) Annual Conference
On December 10, the iCivics policy team joined the NCoC Annual Conference on Citizenship in Washington, D.C. This year’s theme, “Renewing Civic Health,” brought together prominent speakers and dynamic sessions to inspire civic action and collaboration. The comprehensive program addressed essential topics from strengthening civic media to building civic trust.
Highlights included:
The launch of the 100th Civic Health Index, showcasing key trends in U.S. civic health and strategies to enhance engagement in communities;
“How Can Civic Media Help Renew Civic Health” keynote panel featuring NPR CEO and President Katherine Maher and CSPAN CEO Sam Feist;
A conversation with former members of Congress Val Demings (D-FL) and Rodney Davis (R-IL) about the importance and value of public service in polarizing times; and
Awards recognizing winners of the Institute for Citizens and Scholars’ Youth Civic Solutions Competition.
Civic Learning in the News
Check out year-end civic highlights.
iCivics CEO Louise Dubé reflects on the one-year anniversary of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s passing.
Well Versed, the series of songs and videos created by Nickelodeon, ATTN:, and iCivics to teach kids the basics of democracy, won an Emmy!
Robert Gilbert, a New York City high school freshman, calls for the country to pay more attention to civic education in this piece in the Hechinger Report.
We remain deeply appreciative of member efforts and all that we accomplish together. Our goal is to aggregate and activate large networks of support to expand and re-imagine civic education as a force for civic strength. To our members, thank you for your partnership.
If your organization is interested in joining CivxNow or in learning more, please contact us at CivxNow@icivics.org.
Our Mission
CivxNow is a coalition of partners from diverse viewpoints working to create a culture shift that elevates civic education and engagement as a national priority in order to protect and strengthen America’s constitutional democracy. This includes building a shared commitment to ensure that all young people are prepared to assume their rights and responsibilities to participate in civic life and address the issues facing students, their families, and communities in our increasingly dynamic, polarized, and digital society.
To achieve this goal, CivxNow advocates for bipartisan federal and state legislation that supports implementation of state and local policies that reimagine and deliver relevant, inclusive, and engaging K–12 civic learning, both in- and out-of-school.
A Team Effort
The CivxNow team produces this newsletter each month.
We are grateful for the energy, time, and guidance of the CivxNow Advisory Council and to many, many others who support individual projects.
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