NEW OHIO DATA: Only 32% of Ohio’s 18-Year-Olds Are Registered to Vote

October 7 Deadline to Register is Fast Approaching

Ohio is set to have one of the most consequential elections in the nation this November, and only 32% of the state’s 18-year-olds are registered to vote. In comparison, 78% of Ohioans ages 45 and above are registered, an enormous 46 percentage point gap. In order to close that gap, we would need to see an average of more than 4,500 new 18-year-old registrants every week between now and the October 7 deadline.

Detailed data broken down by school district, as well graphs plotting changes in registration rates since October 2023 can be found at the bottom of this post.

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What hangs in the balance, among other things, are a prized U.S. Senate seat, the state’s 17 presidential electors, and, likely a key ballot initiative designed to end partisan gerrymandering. 

The good news? When young people in Ohio are registered and understand the stakes, they turn out at rates comparable to those of older voters. In the November 2023 statewide election, for example, when measures to protect abortion and legalize marijuana were on the ballot, registered 18-year-olds turned out at nearly the same rate (43.6%) as registered adults as a whole (49.3%). 

And, as I say in nearly every post I do, in every presidential election going back to 2004, more than 75% of registered youth turned out.  

A central reason for these low registration rates is the lack of implementation of efficient, equitable, and universal high school voter registration programs and policies in the state. College programs, Motor Voter, and online voter registration are all important within their spheres, but Ohio’s 32% registration rate for 18-year-olds shows they simply don’t provide a full answer for the youngest voters. 

Nationally, 40% of students do not go on to college, and 40% do not get driver’s licenses. Ohio’s online voter registration system, like those in many other states, requires users to have a driver’s license or state ID, which many don’t.

The only way to ensure that everyone eligible can vote as soon as they are old enough, and that doesn't exclude huge populations who don’t drive or go to college – is through engaging students across the board in high schools. 

It is also true that the state has done a lot to discourage youth political participation. 17-year-olds can no longer vote in primary elections if they will be 18 by the general election, and the state recently passed a strict photo ID law that will create obstacles to voting for young people who do not have another need to obtain a driver’s license or state ID.

All the more reason to make sure every student has help and encouragement to register to vote in high school. Under existing state law, young people can register to vote today if they will be 18 by November. In other words: virtually every Ohio high school senior who is graduating this year is old enough to register right now.

Our work at The Civics Center has shown us that peer-to-peer voter registration works best. No teenager wants to be told what to by outsiders, so when trusted friends are in charge, engagement goes up. This is why we help high schools build youth-led, adult-supported programs. 

If you are alarmed by low rates of registration for 18-year-olds in Ohio, and even lower rates for Pennsylvania and Arizona, please tell every student and educator you know, and everyone with ties to students and educators that the lack of high school voter registration is one of the greatest gaps in our democracy and that they can make a difference by getting trained to bring voter registration to their school today.

It will all happen one student, teacher, school, district, and state at a time. In Pennsylvania in 2022, we documented a massive increase in voter registration for 18-year-olds in the 3.5 months leading to election day. Ohio has the chance to do the same thing now.