GDS Juniors Explore Youth Voting Trends Through Independent Study and Podcast

This past semester, GDS juniors, Anjali Martin-Shanker ’26, Raghav Belle Trichur ’26, and Henry Wachs ’26 embarked on an independent study spurred by a recent development in U.S. politics: a noticeable ideological shift among young voters in the 2024 Presidential and Congressional elections, including a surprising swing to the right among voters aged 18–24.

The trio, already united by a shared interest in politics and polling (bolstered by two of them taking a fall-semester elective in American Government) decided to investigate further. They wanted to examine the impacts of polling and social media on election outcomes with a particular emphasis on how they affect young voters, focusing on current trends, and on the pitfalls, including the limitations and biases of polling itself.

“So much of what we do in history classes involves doing the deep dive; going beyond the obvious or the easy to really try to figure out why things happen or how things work,” explained history teacher Lisa Rauschart, who advised the project. “So it was a treat for me to get to work with these three students to do an even deeper exploration of the reasons behind our current political situation. These students could have easily stopped at an academic report, but the fact that they wanted to make their knowledge accessible to others—and usable—is a real measure of scholarship and activism at its best.”

Over the course of the semester, the students conducted extensive research. Their findings shed light on several key issues—including how media consumption patterns differ across demographics.

“A surprising takeaway from the research was the differing impact social media has on different demographics,” said Anjali. “Polling research showed that men and women use different platforms, so they receive and perceive their news in completely different ways, and this directly affects how they vote. For instance, there was a shift in male voters for Trump this year, which could be attributed to the forms of media they consume and the influencers they listen to.”

According to the students, one of the most important insights from their study was that social media plays a far more significant role in shaping political views than it is often given credit for—especially among young voters.

Believing their findings would resonate most with young audiences, they decided to share their research in podcast format.

“Unlike a more traditional paper, a podcast allowed us to capture tone and hesitation which are essential when exploring complex issues like political engagement. It also challenged us to think about not just what we wanted to say, but how it would be heard,” Anjali said.

The resulting podcast proved both informative and accessible. Though they initially aimed for a more youthful demographic, they found it could well serve a broader audience. 

“It is useful and interesting whether you are a middle schooler wanting to do a deeper dive into politics or an adult looking for a discussion of the latest scholarship,” said Anjali.

Listen to their podcast and explore some of the statistics and polling data below.