youth

With more than 45 million voters between the ages of 18-29, the "youth vote" will again receive significant attention in the upcoming election cycle. But, are these voters being excluded from the democratic process? According to a new study from Rock the Vote, they just might be. Between outdated voter registration practices and other obstacles like difficulties casting ballots in many states, these barriers underscore the country's need to better prepare the next generation as a whole for active citizenship.

The study titled “Rock the Vote Voting System Scorecard,” was released earlier in June and measured state laws and policies in three key areas: voter registration, casting a ballot and young voter preparation. Survey organizers scored states on a 21-point scale and then ranked them based on their overall voting experience—serving as the first national benchmark that measures states’ laws and policies in these areas. The survey findings revealed that, “the average national score is only 41% (8.6 points out of 21 total) with Washington state ranking highest at 68% and South Carolina and Virginia at 18% performing at the bottom of our list. Only 15 states scored above 50%.”

Survey Findings

The Voting System Scorecard evaluated states in these three policy areas and identified the most significant obstacles:

• Voter Registration: According to the Scorecard, the “single greatest barrier to participation for young people” is voter registration. In fact, citizens ages 18 to 24 have the lowest rates of registration amongst all segments of the population. In the United States, voter registration remains a relatively cumbersome paper-based process that is often an unfamiliar process for first-time registrants.
• Casting a Ballot: There are several obstacles that impede Millennial voters from actually voting in elections once they have registered, including: lawmakers who believe that young voters should face more restrictions; voter identification inconsistencies; strict absentee voting laws; and military and overseas voting inefficiencies.
• Young Voter Preparation: The third category of the Voting System Scorecard is young voter preparation. The survey found that opportunities to learn about politics and government in schools are increasingly rare, and programs to register newly eligible high school students to vote are not widespread. Those who do not become engaged may find themselves “increasingly frustrated and disengaged from this country’s democratic system.”

Survey Recommendations

Overall, the survey revealed that “young Americans are frustrated with a voter registration system that is inefficient, inconvenient and wasteful.” This was reflected in the results where high-scoring states that had the best overall voting experience, for the most part, offered either Same Day Registration or online registration. Conversely, the organizers found that many of the states that did not score well lacked many of these more popular voting tools to facilitate engagement opportunities and a positive voter experience.

Addressing these tools/obstacles may hold the key to changing how the next generation takes to the polls. As the Millennial generation voters continue to establish their power at the polls, Rock the Vote continues to register and educate voters. In 2011, Rock the Vote is leading the charge toward making our electoral process more accessible to young people through our high school civics program, by rallying young people to stop unfair registration laws and push more modern approaches, and educating prospective 2012 candidates on how to incorporate young people in their campaigns.

What else can states, organizations and Millennials themselves do to empower themselves when it comes to voting at the polls? Are there other obstacles that you think need to be addressed?

• Check out some more information at these links:
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/RockTheVote
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rockthevote
• Read the full report here
• Send the report to your elected officials
   

This post was authored by Fiona Hoehn and Rachel White, interns of the Case Foundation.

Online Civics - coming soon to a school near you! Think about it, a class to mentor young people and help them use social media for social good? Well, perhaps not for another decade or so… the course isn’t offered yet in schools as far as I know, but I’m willing to bet that we just might see it integrated into the nation’s education curriculum before the end of this decade. A take on the traditional civics class that has long been a staple of many school programs, the online civics class would be designed to address ethical issues specific to online citizenship and the welfare of the online community.

What grade do Millennials get on their report cards when it comes to online citizenship?

At the recent Social Good Summit hosted by Mashable and 92Y, GoodPlay released a two-part study that highlighted the untapped potential young people (ages 15-25 and 10-14 respectively) represent when it comes to using social media for social good (watch the presentation). The study details qualitative interviews with young people regarding their social responsibilities and impact online. Carrie James, a researcher for the study, noted that most young people thought primarily about themselves while online and reported relatively little concern for how their use of social media or online actions might affect others. One respondent summarized that, “I do online what I want to do online. I don’t feel like it’s really anybody’s business to tell me what I shouldn’t do… I don’t really feel responsible to people online. I definitely feel it’s more for me, not for anyone else.”

Does such a thing as online ethics even matter in the real world?

Put yourself in the participants’ shoes… James asked the respondents what they thought about when downloading pirated MP3s. Did they think about their wallets, the impact on the artists, consequences for the music label? I’m guessing the ethical lines may have just become a bit more blurred for you now.

The discussion about the GoodPlay study did not go so far as to compare behavior online and offline, but it’s hard not to draw a correlation between the two sets of thoughts and actions. The major divide here according to James is that online we possess the ability to act anonymously  and there is potential for one’s actions to reach a much broader audience—thereby changing the way in which we relate to others online. In the group interviewed by GoodPlay, the Internet was seen as mostly for fun and not something with which youth could create change. Moreover, respondents felt that a lack of adult presence in their online experience contributed to the absence of moral and ethical support online.

With this unique generation of young Americans, we are seeing for the first time the rise of an interesting and potentially troubling paradigm—as the number of young online users grows, so too does the belief among this group that one’s actions do not impact or affect others in this community.

Class is in session.

From the GoodPlay study, James’ team identified several opportunities to engage youth in online civics. The study concluded that while “ethical thinking” online may be infrequent among this group, a more positive online civic experience can be created when youth see their online lives as those which are filled with meaning and responsibility. James proposes the following action steps to help motivate the younger generation to become more engaged online.

• Challenge young people to see themselves as citizens of the online community.
• Encourage youth to use social media for something greater than themselves.
• Move beyond “clicks” to deeper, sustained and more meaningful engagement related to issues beyond their personal network.

Extra credit.

This summation of James’ presentation only looks at one small piece of the GoodPlay study through the lens of youth participation online so I encourage you to watch the presentation and visit the resources yourself. Like any good study, the results inevitably lead to more questions… I am curious to know how the study participants saw themselves—as online citizens, apathetic residents of an online community or perhaps vanguards of the new online frontier? Do youth today see themselves as lacking the ethical thinking that is implied by the GoodPlay study suggested?  What do you think of the study?