Hey Pennsylvania: Register to Vote.
In Philadelphia and its surrounding suburbs, fewer than 20% of youth who will be 18-years-old on Election Day are registered to vote.
Uniting for youth and democracy, The Civics Center convenes more than 70 nonprofits to promote High School Voter Registration Week.
Approximately one million high school students will be old enough to vote in November if they are registered. Millions more live in states where they can preregister to vote as soon as they turn 16 or 17, providing additional opportunities for youth engagement. Virtually all Americans become eligible to register or preregister while they are still in high school. Yet most schools have no programs, curriculum, training, or events to actually help their students take this important step.
Guest Blog: The Federal Civics Secures Democracy Act Represents a Generational Investment in K-12 Civic Education and the Future of Our Constitutional Democracy
CSD is the first bipartisan initiative to support states and local school districts in offering the civic education needed to equip youth in the United States with the civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions to become informed and engaged members of society. This comprehensive piece of legislation responds to a crisis in civic education that has seen the subject neglected over the past 50 years.
Our bodies. Our votes.
When we read the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, taking away federal constitutional protection for abortion rights and signaling that further erosion of fundamental rights may be on the horizon, we thought about the 1.5 million Americans who are turning 18 between now and Election Day in November.
In Florida, with Midterms just five months away, the biggest obstacle to youth voter turnout is low levels of voter registration among youngest eligible voters.
As of May 16, 2022, in Miami-Dade County, approximately 25% of 18-year-olds are registered to vote. In Broward County, roughly 30% of 18-year-olds are registered to vote. Miami-Dade and Broward Counties are the most populous counties in Florida, and immediate action is required to make sure young people are registered to vote ahead of the Midterms.
Graduation Season Calendar: Where and When to Get the Class of 2022 Ready to Vote.
We created a resource to help community groups, parents, and volunteers focus their efforts on specific school districts. Our School District Graduation Calendar lists the graduation season dates for the most populous districts in each state. This is a great starting point for encouraging students and educators to plan registration drives at their schools in connection with graduation.
Statement to high school and college students on the Supreme Court’s draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade
Congress and state legislatures can protect abortion rights and encourage health care institutions to provide it. Every member of the House of Representatives, one-third of the U.S. Senate, and thousands of state legislative seats will be up for election in November. Young people are not set up today to have an equal voice in these elections today because so few are registered.
Accept the Challenge: Help the Class of 2022 get Ready to Vote.
The Civics Center’s Class of 2022 Ready to Vote Challenge engages educators, students, parents, and community members in the high school registration process. The Challenge already has more than 40 co-sponsor non-profit organizations.
In Ohio, where youth could decide the US Senate race, fewer than 25% of 18-year-olds in the state’s largest counties are registered to vote
In Ohio’s two most populous counties, Franklin and Cuyahoga, under 25% of 18-year-olds are registered to vote. The deadline to register to vote in time for the upcoming May 3 election is April 4, 2022. There is an immediate need to help high school seniors register before they graduate this spring.
Wisconsin: Fewer than 1,500 18-year-olds in Milwaukee and Dane Counties are registered to vote. New research shows an urgent need for high school voter registration.
In Wisconsin’s two most populous counties, the overwhelming majority of 18-year-olds are not yet registered to vote. Just 4.5% of 18-year-olds in Milwaukee County and 10.5% of 18-year-olds in Dane County are registered to vote. New research supports an immediate need to help high school seniors register to vote before they graduate this spring.
In Pennsylvania school districts, most 18-year-olds are not registered to vote ahead of 2022 midterm elections
Despite the outsize role that youth play in this state, The Civics Center has found low voter registration rates for 18-year-olds in the most populous areas of the state, suggesting that our newest voters may not be adequately prepared to participate in this upcoming pivotal election.
Low Voter Registration Rates Among Teens Threaten To Depress Youth Voter Turnout in 2022 Midterm Elections
TCC found the average pre-18 registration rate was just 12% among the 17 states and Washington, D.C. that provided data (see chart below). Indeed, only four states—Colorado, Maryland, North Carolina, and Utah—have a pre-18 registration rate of 20% or higher.
In Arizona’s two largest counties, fewer than 15% of 18-year-olds are registered to vote
The Civics Center found that in Pima County just 9% of 18-year-old citizens had registered to vote. Maricopa fared somewhat better with 14% of 18-year-old citizens registered to vote.
The CA Gubernatorial Runoff’s Low Impact on Youth Preregistration Rates
The state of California had an overall preregistration rate of 12.94%. Since February 2021, the change in preregistration number was 19,084. With thousands of young people becoming eligible to register in California every year, it is crucial to continue the upward movement of preregistration rates, especially with the upcoming midterm elections in the fall of 2022.
The Future of Youth Voter Participation: A Call for States to Revamp Voter Registration Methods [Voices of Democracy series]
One way to almost certainly increase youth participation is to introduce pre-registration and automatic voter registration (AVR) laws in every state, as contemplated by the federal Freedom to Vote Act currently pending in Congress.
Stop Being Invisible
In California, 71% of citizens age 25 and above are registered to vote. In the overwhelming majority of school districts in LA County, however, fewer than half of the young people who turned 18 in the six months following the November 2020 election are registered to vote.
Introducing Future Voter Scorecards: OC Edition
The Civics Center is introducing Future Voter Scorecards, which measure the percentage of registered voters among new 18-year-olds by school district. We are starting in Orange County, California, where approximately 35,000 young people will have turned 18 between last November’s election day and September 14 of this year, the final date to vote in California’s gubernatorial recall election.
Arizona survey shows students don’t know voter registration laws
We asked college students from Arizona about pre-18 voter registration eligibility in their state. Specifically, we asked at what age people in Arizona would be old enough to register to vote. Only 20% of respondents answered correctly.
Students want high schools to do more to help them register to vote
The Civics Center recently took a survey of college students from around the country to find out if they thought high schools should teach students how to register to vote. Over 90% of responding college students indicated that high schools should indeed teach students about registering.
Statement on the For the People Act to 16 million Future Voters now in US high schools
Laura W. Brill, Executive Director of The Civics Center, issued the following statement to the 16 million future voters now in US high schools regarding their role in strengthening our democracy following Joe Manchin’s assertion that he will not vote for the For the People Act.