Ahead of the midterms, we’re convening a historic gathering of first-time voters.
When the midterm elections arrive on November 3, 2026, young Americans will face more than one important choice. Can they surpass the record 28 percent nationwide turnout among 18-29-year-olds in the 2018 midterms? Will young voters make decisions that are thoughtfully considered and informed by a wide range of perspectives other than their own?
From July 8-11, Close Up, the Stanford University Deliberative Democracy Lab (DDL), and Generation Lab will host NextGen Roundtable: Decision 2026, a large-scale experiment in democracy launched through our work on 2024’s America in One Room: The Youth Vote. We’re convening a nationally representative and scientific sample of first-time voters from across the country to listen to each other and deliberate key policy issues in a reasoned and mutually respectful way.
