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.
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.
With five months before Election Day, more than 1.5 million Americans will be turning 18 before Election Day.
Election Day is only five months away, and 1.5 million youth across the country are turning 18 before November 8, 2022. Virtually all of these young people are eligible to register to vote today, and then they can vote in the midterms in November.
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.
Statement to the 16 Million Future Voters Now In US High Schools on the Failure of the US Senate To Pass Voting Rights Reform
Following the U.S. Senate’s vote against changing Senate rules to enable the passage of the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act yesterday, The Civics Center’s Executive Director, Laura W. Brill, issued the following statement to the 16 million future voters now in U.S. high schools.
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.
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.
Young people could decide the Virginia Gubernatorial Election
Approximately 95,000 young people turn 18 in Virginia, but fewer than 70,000 young people ages 18-24 have registered to vote since November 2020. As a result, the registration gap between young and older voters has widened.
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.
The Civics Center encourages Congress to pass the Freedom To Vote Act
Executive Director Laura W. Brill celebrates the introduction of historic voting rights legislation, reflects on the inclusion of youth voting rights provisions, and calls for immediate passage.
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.
On the 50th anniversary of the 26th Amendment, the need to protect voting rights is clear
Young people are as crucial to our democracy today as they were in 1971 when the 26th Amendment was enacted. It is time for our country to live up to its promise.
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.
New York expanded voter preregistration to age 16. A year later, and with a Mayoral election on the horizon, most people haven’t noticed.
Only 61,567 of the state’s 16- and 17-year-olds were preregistered to vote as of April 2021. That represents just 13% of the approximately 484,317 youth in that age demographic.