After the lengthy and messy struggle to extend voting rights to 18-year-olds, passage of the 26th Amendment in 1971 was expected to herald a surge in youth civic participation. What actually happened: youth voter turnout has never exceeded 55.4%.
LOS ANGELES, May 1, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Drawing on extensive research and real-world examples, A-Mark Foundation's latest report, "Want More Youth Voting? We Know What Works.," identifies key factors that influence youth engagement in the electoral process and offers actionable recommendations for driving meaningful change.
Key findings of the report include:
- Make Voting Easier: Expanding access to voting through measures such as early voting, absentee ballots, and mobile polling stations can remove barriers that often deter young people from participating in elections. One surprising finding is that civic education in high school does not appear to have a noticeable impact on voting in adulthood. Instead, it is having the opportunity to vote that seems most impactful.
- Candidates and Issues Matter: Turnout can be spurred by a galvanizing candidate and occasionally a hot-button issue, such as abortion in the 2022 midterm election.
- Age Impacts Perspective: When people around the world were asked whether voting in elections is very important to be a good member in society, the United States showed the largest gap between younger and older voters. While 82% of those over 50 years old agreed with that statement, only 47% of the 18-to-29-year electorate concurred.
- Restrictions Targeting Youth Voters Hurt Turnout: A growing number of states require some sort of voter identification but won't accept student ID cards, even from public institutions. According to the Campus Vote Project, at least 12 states prohibit using student IDs. In many of these states, permits to carry concealed weapons are acceptable to vote but proof of attendance at a public university is not.
- College Campuses Can Enact Change: Researchers found that classroom-based registration drives increased registration by 6% and voting by 2.6%. Face-to-face presentations work. Comparatively, remote email messages, the researchers found, do not. Young people vote when their peers encourage them to vote.
In light of the upcoming elections, the insights provided in this report are more timely and relevant than ever.
"All citizens deserve the opportunity to have their voices heard and their votes counted," said Rob Eshman, CEO of A-Mark Foundation. "The strategies outlined in this report show we can improve America's dismal youth voting numbers — if we want to."
The full report is available at amarkfoundation.org. Founded in 1997, A-Mark Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to provide and promote unbiased, nonpartisan research and reporting on critical issues. For more information, contact [email protected].
Media Contact
Rob Eshman, A-Mark Foundation, 213-700-0388, [email protected], https://amarkfoundation.org/
SOURCE A-Mark Foundation
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