Young people say they are feeling more empowered to effect change in American politics, according to a new poll

The Youth Political Pulse survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and MTV found that 46 percent of people ages 15 to 34 now believe they can have at least a moderate effect on the government. That's a significant rise from a similar survey two months earlier, when only 37 percent of people in that age group said they believe they could have a moderate effect on policy.

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Fifty-four percent of people in the age group, who are the least likely to vote, still believe that they have little or no effect on government.

Thirty-four percent of people between 15 and 34 also believe that politicians care somewhat about what they think, an increase of 9 percentage points from March.

Pollsters also found that two-thirds of people in that age group believe the government is not functioning well, and only 30 percent approve of President Trump Donald John TrumpOmar fires back at Trump over rally remarks: 'This is my country' Pelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare Trump mocks Biden appearance, mask use ahead of first debate MORE's job performance. Forty percent of young people gave the government's handling of gun control an F grade.

Events in the past few months have likely caused the boost in feelings of empowerment, pollsters said. After 17 people were killed in a school shooting in Parkland, Fla., for example, students from the high school helped launch a massive movement to keep debates surrounding gun violence at the center of the news.

The new survey of 939 Americans between the ages of 15 and 34 was conducted from April 23 to May 9. Its margin of error is 4.3 percentage points.