Today we’re sharing data from Pennsylvania – yet another state where 18-year-old voter registration rates are under 45%, with just over 3 weeks left to register before the October 21 deadline for the general election in November.

Last week, we shared new data for New York showing that under 45% of 18-year-olds are registered to vote. Unfortunately, the story is the same in Arizona and Ohio, where the deadline to register to vote is October 7th – less than two weeks away.

This week - Sept. 23-27, is High School Voter Registration Week. The Civics Center created High School Voter Registration Week back in 2019, to serve as a tentpole event for high school community organizing and to draw attention to the enormous opportunities for welcoming young people into our democracy in high school. Here's what you can do to help.

As of September 9th, New York State registrations have not accelerated in recent weeks as they have in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Most 18-year-olds in New York, over 130,000 people, are not yet registered. 

This week, we’re highlighting two high-achieving states, Georgia and Michigan, which have some of the highest levels of 18-year-old voter registration among the states we are tracking this summer.

Our latest data from PA and OH support national headlines touting increases in youth voter registration following the changes in the Democratic presidential ticket. But more than 60% of 18-year-olds in both states remain unregistered.

This is the fourth of our 2024 Election Season weekly series of Future Voter Scorecards. Today, we are focusing on Massachusetts, New York, and California, three states that offer preregistration starting at age 16 and that have implemented the law with differing degrees of success.

In the six months between December 2023 and June 2024, registration rates for 18-year-olds in New Hampshire saw a tremendous improvement, especially considering this is a state where registration is particularly tricky for young people.

Since May 2024, 18-year-old registration rates in Michigan have increased over 10 percentage points, from 62.9% to 73.4%, rates that are more than double those of Arizona, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

With the school season starting across the country, we’re pleased today to be publishing a brand-new resource for high school educators looking for a way to engage their students in voter registration and civic engagement for this election and for years to come.

Between now and Election Day, we’ll be publishing on a weekly basis, every Tuesday. We’ll be giving regular updates on voter registration rates in states where young people are likely to have the greatest electoral significance.

For the past 3 months, we’ve been ringing the alarm about depressed youth registration rates in PA. With fewer than 100 days until the election, we’re ringing it again: As of July 15, 2024, fewer than one third of the state’s 18-year-olds (just 30.2%) were registered to vote.

Governor Shapiro, we have a state of emergency in Pennsylvania: only 29% of 160,000 18-year-olds are registered to vote, and the registration deadline is approaching!

Shannon Salter, a high school civics teacher in Allentown, PA is the model we’d like to see in every high school classroom in America.

Only 40% of New York State’s 250,000 18-year-olds are registered and ready to vote in the upcoming primary. Compare that to residents aged 45+ who are registered at 77%, and it’s not OK.

Michigan blew us away: 62.9% of the state’s 18-year-olds are registered to vote as of May 1. It’s not every day we get to report on something going great when it comes to states helping the youngest voters register.

High school voter registration could dramatically improve low rates in just a few years, and we can make it happen, together.

Ohio is set to have one of the most consequential elections in the nation this November, and only 32% of the state’s 18-year-olds are registered to vote.

Young Arizonans can only exercise their power if they are registered to vote. Today, only 25% of the state’s 18-year-olds are registered, versus 81% of Arizonans aged 45+.