Students as knowledge brokers: voter information sharing and the political consequences of informing students of color and first-generation students on electoral politics

Traditional understandings of political socialization attribute youth activism and participation to factors including familial and peer socialization. Drawing on a unique set of focus group interviews and survey data, we find that political socialization also works in the opposite direction: that college students are sharing with their families back home information about elections that they gather in their classrooms and campuses. This knowledge brokering behavior is especially prevalent among first-generation college students and students of color. We conclude that political knowledge brokers have the potential to create ripple effects and substantially increase voter turnout among members of low-propensity communities.