National Director Mike Burns, issued the following statement on the new study released by Tufts University’s CIRCLE on youth voter participation in 2020:
“We are deeply excited to see that half of all young people between the ages of 18 and 29 turned out to vote in the 2020 presidential election. An overwhelming increase from just 39 percent in 2016, our nation’s young people continuously show their deep and growing commitments to political and civic engagement. However, despite their dedication to our nation’s democracy, students and other young people are facing bad-faith attacks to their voting rights, based on lies, in states across the country.
“This year marks the 50th anniversary of the ratification of the 26th Amendment, which expanded voting rights to youth over the age of 18. Instead of celebrating the progress made in youth voter turnout over the course of the last half century, an alarming number of lawmakers are taking steps backwards. Over 350 voter suppression bills have been introduced in state legislatures since January, having a particularly detrimental impact on students, who face unique barriers to voting due to frequent moves, postal access, academic and work schedules, and general newness and unfamiliarity with the registration and voting process.
