States across the U.S. are implementing policies to boost youth voter registration, but young voters still face numerous challenges in navigating the voting process.
Policy measures: In efforts to enhance youth voter engagement, some states have made strides toward lowering barriers for new voters.
* Minnesota’s Democratic governor, Tim Walz, signed a law making it easier for young citizens below 18 to register to vote.
* About half of the U.S. States have implemented automatic voter registration, which occurs predominantly at the DMV when citizens come of voting age.
* According to Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, the Newhouse director at CIRCLE at Tufts University, automatic voter registration is more effective when paired with pre-registration, a policy currently offered to under-18s in about 20 U.S. states.
Challenges: Despite these advancements, younger voters still face significant obstacles when trying to register.
* Frequent moving and unfamiliarity with governmental procedures can complicate the process.
* Lack of online registration in states like Texas can deter potential voters who struggle with older, non-digital systems.
* Charlotte Hill, director of the Democracy Policy Initiative at UC Berkeley, emphasized that the American political system has not been built to cater to young voters.
The other side: While efforts to increase youth registration are underway, not all advocates agree with broadening accessibility to young voters.
* Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has proposed raising the voting age to 25, except for those serving their communities or passing a civics test.
Impact: Despite logistic challenges, policy efforts have seen success in increasing registration amongst young citizens.
* As per a Georgia’s AVR program, youth registration rates are nearing parity with the rest of the electorate.
* Overall, voter registration amongst U.S. citizens hit a record high during the last midterm election.
This summary was created by an AI system. The use of this summary is subject to our Terms of Service.
Leave a Reply