Messaging Advice for the Census Bureau

Democracy is facing a paradox. Around the world, citizens continue to support democratic ideals while simultaneously losing faith in democratic institutions. According to a 2024 Pew Research Center survey, a median of 59% of respondents across 24 countries were dissatisfied with how democracy functions in their own nation. Yet despite this frustration, support for democratic governance remains resilient. The crisis confronting liberal democracy is therefore not a rejection of democracy itself, but a growing belief that voting alone no longer provides meaningful political influence.

This dissatisfaction is particularly pronounced among younger generations. In many democracies, turnout among younger voters consistently lags behind older cohorts, and surveys show declining trust in legislatures, parties, and executive institutions. Political participation increasingly feels symbolic: citizens are asked to choose between broad coalitions every few years while day-to-day policy formation occurs in spaces largely insulated from public input. Lobbyists, party elites, bureaucratic agencies, and professionalized political consultants often play a more continuous role in shaping policy than voters themselves.