Increasing the Youth Vote

The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) just published a report on election law reform and its connection to youth voter turnout. More specifically, they found election day registration (EDR) is key to increase the youth vote.

In the nine states that currently have EDR, youth are 41% more likely to vote than youth in other states. In addition, five of the eight states with the highest youth vote, Minnesota, Iowa, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, and Maine, all have EDR. Although CIRCLE acknowledges that EDR is not beneficial for all ages or even all youth, it is an important step in encouraging youth to be active citizens.

This report is supported by the first-hand experience of our own Andrew Zucker, who was the Youth Vote Director in Minnesota for the Obama campaign. He found that EDR allowed him and his colleagues to focus on getting indecisive youths to focus on supporting a candidate, not on having to register. This resulted in a real sense of community support behind Obama because less attention was paid to intensive voter registration. Many youth in non-EDR states have not decided on a candidate by the time the deadline for registration comes, so they are left out of the election.

This is an exciting finding because youth are increasingly an active part of the election process and the political landscape. It is key to the success of our democracy to encourage and include such an important element of the electorate. The innovation that comes with a fresh perspective on the political scene is essential in creating fundamental change. Hopefully more states will embrace EDR and increase their youth vote.