Several statewide organizations, led by the Indiana Citizen Education Foundation (ICEF), announced during today’s National Voter Registration Day virtual briefing that they will redouble their effort to encourage registration among younger Hoosiers ahead of the Oct. 5 deadline.
ICEF Co-founder and President Bill Moreau discussed next steps of ICEF’s One More Voice campaign and the issue of youth registration. Joining him were:
- Linda Hanson, Co-President, League of Women Voters of Indiana
- Rose Meissner, President, Community Foundation of St. Joseph County
- John O’Neal, Policy & Research Coordinator, Indiana State Teachers Association
The latest effort is in response to a recent national study from the Tufts University Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) that shows registration levels for Indiana’s youngest voters (ages 18-19) are more than 50 percent lower than in 2016, ranking Indiana dead last. Similarly, actual registrations for youth ages 18-24 are 11 percent lower.
“We recognize that we need a substantial effort to reach the youngest Hoosiers who are eligible to vote in the upcoming election,” Moreau said. “All of us have agreed to focus on doing what we can over the coming days and weeks to reach these young people.”
Moreau said the groups plan to increase digital advertising as well as outreach to school superintendents, school boards, high school administrators, teachers and parents to address these alarming statistics.
The Indiana Citizen’s mission aligns with this effort. It is a nonpartisan, non-profit platform dedicated to increasing the number of informed, engaged Hoosier voters. In addition to its registration efforts, the organization hired a group of journalists as contributing writers to connect voters to unbiased information about the candidates who will appear on the 2020 general election ballots.
You can hear the groups in the Leon-Tailored Audio above. It runs approximately 40 minutes.
