OutVote responds to Williams Institute research finding nearly three-quarters of Gen Z respondents are planning to vote, while LGBT young adults report higher political participation and greater openness to peer-driven engagement.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2026 — OutVote, the national, youth-led nonprofit focused on mobilizing Gen Z LGBTQ+ voters through civic education, organizing and research, today responded to national polling examining the political priorities, candidate preferences and civic engagement of Gen Z adults ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Conducted by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law – a top research authority on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy – the research comes as nearly 50 million Americans ages 18 to 29 will be eligible to vote this November. Nearly three-quarters of Gen Z respondents said they will definitely or likely vote in the 2026 congressional elections, while the research found important differences between LGBT and non-LGBT Gen Z adults in political participation, party preference and the urgency they assign to several major national issues. At the same time, the findings reveal significant common ground: affordability dominates concerns across Gen Z, shared values matter far more than candidate identity, and young adults say personal relationships and opportunities to work alongside their peers could motivate greater political participation.
Quote from Isaac James, the Co-Founder and Executive Director of OutVote:
“Gen Z is the queerest and fastest growing voting generation in America today. We have the power to determine outcomes where it matters most and fixing democracy hinges on our civic participation. This research validates OutVote’s organizing model and the opportunity going into November: LGBTQ+ Gen Z Americans are motivated, and we’re mobilizing to support leaders who share our values and will fight for our futures.”
KEY FINDINGS
VOTING & POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
- Nearly three-quarters of Gen Z respondents plan to vote. 73.6% of LGBT and non-LGBT Gen Z respondents reported that they will definitely or likely vote in the 2026 congressional elections.
- LGBT Gen Z respondents show particularly high levels of civic and political engagement. LGBT respondents were more likely than non-LGBT respondents to report participating in a range of civic and political activities in the past year.
- Nearly seven in 10 LGBT respondents encouraged someone else to vote. 69.6% reported encouraging another person to vote, compared with 54.2% of non-LGBT respondents.
- LGBT respondents were also more likely to contact elected officials. 36.0% reported doing so during the previous year, compared with 23.1% of non-LGBT respondents.
VOTING MOTIVATORS
- LGBT Gen Z adults are more likely to support candidates who share their values rather than those who just share their identity. 67.4% of all respondents selected a candidate who shares their values as one of the qualities most likely to make them vote for that candidate. Among LGBT respondents, that figure was 76.2%.
- Candidate identity mattered considerably less. Fewer than 30% of respondents selected a candidate under 40, a candidate who shares their demographic background, or a political outsider among their top three candidate qualities.
COST OF LIVING & AFFORDABILITY
- Affordability is overwhelmingly common ground across Gen Z. 87% of respondents classified both rising prices and inflation and the rising cost of housing as an urgent crisis or serious issue.
- Economic pressure was particularly pronounced among LGBT respondents. More than nine in 10 identified rising prices and inflation (92.4%), housing costs (92.8%) and access to affordable health care (91.5%) as an urgent crisis or serious issue.
- Affordable health care produced a significant gap. 91.5% of LGBT respondents classified access to affordable health care as an urgent crisis or serious issue, compared with 78.4% of non-LGBT respondents.
POLICY PRIORITIES
- While affordability united respondents, LGBT and non-LGBT Gen Z adults differed significantly in the urgency they assigned to several national issues.
- On climate change: 88.1% of LGBT respondents identified it as an urgent crisis or serious issue, compared with 72.4% of non-LGBT respondents.
- On immigration and Customs Enforcement actions: 87.2% of LGBT respondents compared with 68.1% of non-LGBT respondents.
- On the conflict in Gaza: 81.8% of LGBT respondents compared with 67.1% of non-LGBT respondents.
- On laws protecting against LGBT discrimination: 84.6% of LGBT respondents compared with 49.5% of non-LGBT respondents.
WHAT COULD DRIVE MORE VOTING ENGAGEMENT
- The research also examined what could make Gen Z adults more likely to participate in politics, offering a particularly relevant finding for organizations working to engage young voters.
- Personal relationships matter. 57.1% of respondents said a personal invitation from a friend, family member or peer would increase their likelihood of participating in politics.
- Working alongside peers matters, too. 56.0% said the opportunity to work alongside peers would increase their likelihood of participating.
- LGBT Gen Z showed even greater openness to peer-driven engagement. 68.4% of LGBT respondents said working alongside peers toward a common goal would make them more likely to participate, compared with 54.6% of non-LGBT respondents.
- Stories of civic engagement also resonated more strongly with LGBT respondents: 52.2% said hearing such stories could increase their participation, compared with 39.0% of non-LGBT respondents.
PARTY PREFERENCE & POLITICAL ORIENTATION
- The survey found a pronounced difference in congressional vote preference. In a generic ballot question, 70.7% of LGBT respondents selected the Democratic candidate and 9.5% selected the Republican candidate. Among non-LGBT respondents, 48.9% selected the Democratic candidate and 34.8% selected the Republican candidate.
- LGBT respondents also identified as more liberal. 62.4% identified as liberal, compared with 29.0% of non-LGBT respondents. Conversely, 5.1% of LGBT respondents identified as conservative compared with 23.3% of non-LGBT respondents.
Taken together, the findings paint the picture of a Gen Z electorate with significant shared economic concerns but meaningful differences in political participation, priorities and preferences. They also point to the potential importance of peer relationships and direct personal engagement in encouraging greater civic participation among young adults. For OutVote, the findings provide new research validating its peer-led approach to LGBTQ+ civic engagement: training and supporting young organizers to reach their communities through sustained relationships, civic education and organizing.
Isaac James, the 26-year-old co-founder and executive director of OutVote, a Rhodes Scholar, and a former White House and Texas legislative staffer, is being made available for interviews. As both a member of Gen Z and an LGBTQ+ organizer working directly to increase civic participation among his peers, James brings a combination of lived experience, policy fluency and on-the-ground organizing experience to what the research reveals about young voters.
The complete Williams Institute research and methodology are available here.
Read the reportABOUT THE RESEARCH
The Williams Institute conducted a survey of Gen Z adults to examine political priorities and motivators and points of convergence and divergence between LGBT and non-LGBT respondents. The survey was fielded online by Verasight between July 14 and July 28, 2026, among U.S. adults ages 18 to 29. The final sample included 924 validated responses, including an LGBT oversample. The approximate model-based margin of error was 5.29%. Refer to the Williams Institute report for the complete methodology, subgroup uncertainty estimates and study limitations. Full methodology provided upon request.
ABOUT OUTVOTE
OutVote is a Gen Z-led organization dedicated to educating and mobilizing LGBTQ+ young people. Through peer-led organizing, civic education, and leadership development, OutVote works to make political participation a lasting habit and ensure young LGBTQ+ people have the power to shape their communities and the country. Learn more at outvotehq.org.
Media contact: press@outvotehq.org