Political Engagement: New CIRCLE Analysis of Youth Voter Registration in Midterm Elections

As part of CIRCLE‘s ongoing efforts to explore young people’s political participation ahead of this November’s midterm election, they have released a new fact sheet about youth voter registration. This analysis by CIRCLE Deputy Director Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg explores registration with particular focus on the 2010 contest, the election most comparable to the upcoming 2014 midterm.

The fact sheet includes data on gaps in youth registration rates between midterm and presidential cycles, differences in how young people (ages 18-29) and older adults register to vote, the reasons why young people say they did not register to vote in 2010, and the effects of policies like same-day registration on youth registration rates.

Over the next two weeks, CIRCLE will feature further discussion on these topics in a series of blog posts. The first post, published concurrently with the fact sheet, examines turnout rates among young registered voters.

Download the fact sheet here. You can also explore CIRCLE’s innovative, interactive map that provides youth registration and other voting data from the past 30 years of midterm and presidential elections.