The BDN Opinion section operates independently and does not set news policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com
Robert W. Glover is an associate professor of political science and honors at the University of Maine. These are his views and do not express those of the University of Maine System or the University of Maine. He is co-leader of the Maine Chapter of the Scholars Strategy Network, which brings together scholars across the country to address public challenges and their policy implications. Members’ columns appear in the BDN every other week.
This week, we celebrate National Voter Registration Day (NVRD) on Sept. 17. This non-partisan civic holiday has been the catalyst for registering millions of new voters since its inception in 2012. NVRD offers a powerful reminder of the role we all have to play in helping to register new voters this election.
In these waning weeks before the presidential election, we will see candidates, journalists, and professional political prognosticators tell us (with varying degrees of certitude) the likely outcome. But we should be skeptical about such predictions. The outcome has been and remains a toss-up, one that hinges crucially upon who turns out to vote.
It has been said that “demographics are dramas in slow motion.” Until they’re not. Watershed moments like presidential elections help bring into focus more incremental demographic shifts occuring below the surface of American life.
In 2024, we could see a swell of such participation, with 8 million voters eligible to participate in their first presidential election. And this is an election in which “Gen Z” will comprise over 40 million potential voters within the electorate. There are critical issues at stake in this election that will impact this generation most acutely, ranging from global climate change, to the cost of housing and education, to the United States’ role in stopping violence in the Middle East.
The space between the presidential candidates on these and other issues could fill a canyon. But beyond this, leverage to demand action on these issues is predicated on robust participation. If younger voters mobilize politically, the major political parties and our political leaders ignore them at their electoral peril.
Furthermore, activism works in tandem with conventional political engagement, and may in fact be more effective if political leaders know there are consequences at the ballot box for ignoring the concerns of younger generations.
The presidency is also but one choice we are making this November. Critically important races for everything from the U.S. Senate, to the Maine Legislature, to our local school boards, to our state flag are being considered. Our responsibilities extend to races where we have much greater power to shape the outcome.
As we reflect on this civic holiday, we can all play a role. Even if we are not members of this new generation of voters, we can help young people overcome the barriers they cite when researchers ask them about their likelihood of voting. This might be as simple as providing guidance on how to register and nudging them to make a plan to vote. We might talk to them about what to know and expect as they register and vote, or how to seek out information to make an informed choice. Some of these barriers are psychological. Being a “voter” is not an identity young people have ever held, and we can help them recognize that their perspective is critical and welcomed.
Thankfully, in Maine, the institutional challenges to getting registered are minimal. Voter registration has been modernized and streamlined with the option to register online. Voters have until Oct. 15 to register via the relatively new online portal, but can still do so in person after that. Even on election day, thanks to “same-day registration,” unregistered eligible voters can turn up at their local polling place with ID and proof of address and get registered.
The habits that young people develop around voting and political engagement often follow them for the rest of their adult lives. This week in particular, let’s empower the young people in our lives to become registered voters, educated to make informed choices and ready to vote in November.
