While some Americans are still reeling from the results of the 2020 election, elected officials and potential candidates are already thinking about the upcoming midterm election. With many close races expected next fall, the parties should pay careful attention to American’s youngest voters: Gen Z Americans who are aged between 18 and 24 and will be a significant proportion of the electorate in 2022.

Despite the many narratives suggesting political apathy among Gen Zers, new data from the American National Election Study (ANES), a seven decade-long survey about campaigns and elections, shows a more nuanced story. Young Americans are not being engaged, nor do they feel adequately represented, by the political parties today.