NEW HAMPSHIRE REPORT: High School Outreach Program Contributes To Near-Doubling Of Voter Registration Rates Among 18-year-olds. Student leaders help overcome barriers to access.

The Civics Center and Open Democracy’s joint effort contributed to a 7.4pp increase in VR rates for 18-year-olds.

Feb 06, 2024

In partnership with Open Democracy NH, The Civics Center developed an outreach program to boost Voter Registration among 18-year-olds in New Hampshire. While registration rates in many NH cities and towns are very low, The Civics Center and Open Democracy’s joint effort contributed to a near doubling of voter registration rates for 18-year-olds in the state as a whole from June 2022 to July 2023. During that period, the rate increased from 8.5% to 15.6%.

David Nickerson, one of the most widely respected experts in evaluating the effectiveness of voter registration and turnout programs, evaluated our program. He found that municipalities with student-led high school voter registration drives saw a +7.4% net increase in registration rates of 18-year-olds versus those without.

More than 16,000 people turn 18 in New Hampshire every year. As of the close of the 2022/2023 school year, however, only 15.6% of the Granite State’s 18-year-olds were registered to vote. This compares to 80% of voters age 35 and above who are registered to vote in NH and an estimate of 30.6% of 18-year-olds nationwide in 2022.

Across the country, The Civics Center consistently finds that when young people are registered to vote, they turn out at high rates. In fact, a 2022 report by TCC showed that 83% of New Hampshire 18-year-olds who were registered turned out to vote in the 2022 midterms.

The Program

The Civics Center, in partnership with Open Democracy, an on-the-ground non-partisan organization dedicated to political equality for all, developed a program aimed at boosting NH high school voter registration. The pilot ran during the 2022/2023 school year and generated further student and faculty engagement in the Fall of 2023.

Peer-to-peer is critical

While New Hampshire creates unique and often burdensome barriers to voter registration, we have found that peer-to-peer registration drives make a significant difference in overcoming the obstacles and increasing youth registration and participation rates.

Students found that rather than starting from scratch, it was helpful to connect to already-existing school structure, curriculum, and traditions. Making the drive a recurring part of the school year helps to institutionalize the program and even creates the expectation each year that voter registration is a rite of passage.

We strongly recommend continuing these efforts leading up to the 2024 election. In early conversations with past youth drive holders, they confirmed that young people in NH are very eager to vote, that all kinds of obstacles stand in the way, and there has not been adequate resources devoted to building the high school culture and infrastructure to helping high school students overcome those obstacles.

The role for young people was clear: given training and support, they are willing and excited to engage their peers and encourage them to register to vote.