Class of origin and voting: The activating role of volunteering during youth

Differences in political participation between social classes are well documented, yet less is known about the mechanisms that may reduce these gaps. This article adopts a life-course perspective to investigate whether youth volunteering can mitigate class-based inequalities in electoral participation. Using longitudinal data from Germany, we analyse how class of origin affects voting for the newly enfranchised, how volunteering influences turnout, and how both factors interact. Our findings show that, while individuals from working-class backgrounds are less likely to vote and youth volunteering increases electoral participation for all, volunteering during youth nearly closes the participation gap linked to social origin and uplifts specifically blue-collar working-class children’s electoral participation. These results suggest that voluntary engagement in youth can serve as a “school of democracy,” reducing class-based inequalities in political participation starting at an early age, which remain persistent otherwise.