Something big happened for American democracy last week. The U.S. Department of Education issued guidance to high schools to promote voter registration. The Promotion of Voter Participation for Students toolkit has the power to help millions of young Americans register to vote.

A shocking 1.25 million eligible teens – more than 80% in CA & NY – have not yet preregistered to vote, which suggest virtually no concerted effort to implement high school voter registration in the states’ most populous regions.

There has been a 35% increase in 18-year-old voter registration in Ohio since last August (approximately 3,000 additional registrations per month). But more than 100,000 18-year-olds remain unregistered to vote in January 2024.

The Civics Center and Open Democracy’s joint effort contributed to a 7.4pp increase in VR rates for 18-year-olds.

‘A Silenced Generation: How the Power of the Youth Vote Collides with Barriers to Voting’ explains how states can support young voters and strengthen turnout.

In Pennsylvania, more than 70,000 young people turn 18 every year in the state’s most populous regions, yet less than 19,000 18-year-olds in these areas are currently registered to vote.

The problem is not voter apathy, but the lack of investment in welcoming young people into our democracy, helping them register, teaching them how public issues connect with their lives, and showing why their votes matter.

Colorado’s voter preregistration rate is the highest of any we have seen across the country. As of September 12, 2023, it nearly triple the rates in California and New York.

California’s law allowing young people to preregister to vote as soon as they turn 16 has been in effect since 2016, and eight years in, only 12.9% of the state’s 16- to 17-year-olds are preregistered to vote.

9,000 18-year-olds have an opportunity to register and vote in the election to fill George Santos’s vacant seat.

We love laws allowing for voter preregistration at age 16. The latest states to bring this wonderful opportunity to their residents are Illinois and Michigan.

There is a persistent 25-40 percentage point gap in registration comparing 18 & 19 year olds to older Americans. The time to remedy that is now.

Ohioans are set to go to the polls on November 7, 2023 to vote on two important ballot issues. But as of just a few weeks ago, more than 100,000 18-year-olds were not yet registered to vote.

Three years after her passing, her teachings about democracy resonate even more.

Efforts to register and turnout the youngest voters in Wisconsin had enormous impact in statewide elections in the 2022 midterms and the 2023 judicial election for the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

The Civics Center launched High School Voter Registration Week four years ago to encourage the youth vote. Here are the three reasons why we made this decision.

It’s a new school year, which means I’m once again shouting for anyone who is listening: high school voter registration is the most underestimated, underfunded, and underutilized method we have for strengthening democracy in America today.

The 2023 Freedom to Vote Act (FTVA) is a landmark bill to strengthen our democracy. How can the FTVA help young voters? Here’s an overview.

I was speaking with a knowledgeable group of professionals who care about democracy, and I brought up what has become my obsession: “high school voter registration.” And then it started: the four phases of denial.

This is the second of three reports released by Civics Center on the registration and turnout statistics of New Hampshire's youngest voters.