Why Are Millions of Citizens Not Registered to Vote?

A survey of the civically unengaged finds they lack interest, but outreach opportunities exist

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Why Are Millions of Citizens Not Registered to Vote?

Voter registration

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Overview

In every state and the Commune of Columbia—except North Dakota—individuals who plan to vote in a federal ballot must starting time register to vote. Still, a sizable share of eligible citizens practise not annals. Official statistics vary, just a bourgeois approximate, calculated using data from the U.S. Demography Bureau's most contempo Voting and Registration Supplement, indicates that 21.4 percent were not registered to vote in 2014.1

Registration'due south importance to the voting procedure and the large number of individuals who remain unregistered have spurred several major reforms intended to increase voter registration. Most notably, the federal regime's National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) requires that states allow eligible citizens to register to vote when completing other transactions at country motor vehicle and social services agencies, a provision commonly known as Motor Voter.ii Since enactment of the law, some states have expanded on this requirement by automating the Motor Voter process. Colorado upgraded its Motor Voter process in 2017, and Oregon became the first country to implement automatic voter registration in 2016, with at least six more planning to implement similar policies in the future.iii Other states offering Same Day Registration, which allows individuals to register and vote on Ballot Solar day, often right at their polling places.iv

Despite these efforts, little is known about eligible but unregistered U.S. citizens' exposure to opportunities to register, reasons for choosing non to, or attitudes toward the electoral system and civic engagement, or how many of them are interested in registering in the future. To brainstorm to fill this gap, The Pew Charitable Trusts deputed a nationally representative survey conducted in March and April 2016 that included a big population of unregistered individuals. This chartbook presents findings from the survey about the attitudes and experiences of those who said they were non registered to vote in the months preceding the 2016 presidential election, including:

  • Less than 20 percent of eligible citizens have been offered the take a chance to register at a motor vehicle or other authorities agency.
  • The unregistered were more than likely to say they do not vote because they dislike politics or believe voting will non brand a difference, while people who are registered only vote infrequently say they do not vote more often because they are non informed plenty well-nigh the candidates or bug.
  • At least 13 percentage of the unregistered, generally those who are younger and more than civically engaged, say they could be motivated to annals in the future.

Voting registration

Considering the American voting system requires individuals to register before they tin can vote, many political campaigns, nonprofits, religious organizations, and other groups hold voter registration drives. Despite these well-publicized efforts, more than 60 per centum of developed citizens have never been asked to annals to vote, and the rate was nearly identical among individuals who are and are not registered.5 Among respondents who had been invited to register, the most probable context was by an official at a motor vehicle agency, social service agency, or other government office. Even so, less than twenty percent of all those surveyed reported such an occurrence, which indicates that the NVRA has not been successful at reaching a big percentage of the population.

Voting registration

40-four percent of eligible unregistered individuals say they do not want to vote. Another 27 percent say they intend to register but haven't washed so yet, and 25 per centum say they are unregistered considering they have not been inspired by a candidate or consequence. Eleven percent do not want to register due to privacy or security reasons. The survey was conducted earlier revelations in autumn 2016 that hackers had targeted information from state voter registration systems, so the results practice not reflect the public business concern about the security of voter data that adult late in the campaign.6

Voting registration

The unregistered are more likely to indicate a broad distaste for the electoral system than registered individuals, who tend to give ballot-specific motives for nonvoting, such as disliking the candidates or not knowing plenty nearly the issues. 40 percent of the unregistered say their disfavor to politics is a major reason they don't want to vote, and 35 percent say voting has little to practise with the way existent decisions are made, compared with 20 and 19 percent of registered only infrequent voters, respectively.

Previous research has found that many unregistered students feel they should not vote because they are insecure nigh their political knowledge.7 Nonetheless, this survey found that simply 17 percent of the unregistered population chose not to vote because they are too uninformed virtually the candidates or issues to make proficient decisions, compared with more than twice that amount—39 percentage—of registered infrequent voters.

Voting registration

Some people vote in many types of races, while others plow out just for certain elections or are registered but never vote. For example, in 2016, approximately 60 percent of eligible citizens voted in the presidential election, just in the 2014 congressional races, turnout was less than forty percent.8 To ameliorate understand how the unregistered population compares with these different groups of voters, the survey asked respondents to think nearly the various types of elections and evaluate how frequently they have voted since they were commencement eligible.9 Based on measures of people'south interest in authorities, electric current events, and political issues, unregistered individuals differ very little from those who are registered simply rarely or never cast a election, while frequent voters are more than 3 times as likely as the unregistered to express interest in government.

Voting registration

Despite not participating in elections, 43 percent of the unregistered and 59 pct of rare or nonvoters say they intendance a good deal who wins the presidential election. These groups expressed far less involvement in the upshot of congressional races and presidential primaries, while frequent voters intendance about the winner of all three types of elections at very high rates. Although some of the unregistered may intendance who governs, many of these respondents withal were not interested in participating in choosing the president: Just 38 percent said they intended to register simply had not washed so at the fourth dimension of the survey, and 32 percent said they did non desire to vote, probably considering of their general belief that voting is disconnected from the way real decisions are fabricated and their feeling that i vote would not affect the result of the ballot. (See Figure 3.)

Voting registration

Voters diverge significantly from the unregistered in terms of their views about the behaviors that are necessary for a person to be considered a good citizen. Jury service was the most commonly selected behavior for proficient citizens across groups at 69 percent of all respondents. However, across groups, the priority on jury duty differed widely: Only 46 percent of the unregistered identified this as an essential responsibility of proficient citizenship, compared with 87 percent of frequent voters. Voters and the unregistered tended to exist more than agreeing about behaviors such as volunteering time to assist others. Sixty-four percent of frequent voters and 48 pct of the unregistered said volunteering is something that a person should practise to exist a good citizen. Voting in elections and paying attention to politics were the ii behaviors well-nigh which voters and the unregistered population differed most. Frequent voters were more than 3 times as likely as the unregistered to say voting is something that adept citizens should do.

Voting registration

An private's belief that he or she is qualified to empathise and participate in politics is considered a central metric for inferring appointment in the political system.ten All groups, except the almost frequent voters, reported that the rules of government are hard to understand at roughly similar— and loftier—rates. But when asked if voting could influence the mode the government is run, the unregistered and rare or nonvoters both tended to say it does not, which very clearly diverged from more than frequent voters, who largely said voting does affect governance.

Voting registration

Well-nigh people, including more than lxxx percent of the unregistered population, said they could have at least a pocket-sized positive impact on their communities. Occasional, semifrequent, and frequent voters were all most likely to say they could have a moderate event, while rare and nonvoters were every bit likely to cull moderate or minor. The largest share of unregistered respondents said they could have only a pocket-sized affect.

Voting registration

Given that nonvoters and the unregistered take limited confidence in their power to affect their communities, the fact that they are less probable to engage in civic and volunteer activities than groups who vote more frequently is non surprising. Across different types of activities, the unregistered and nonvoters participate more often in those that are not political in nature. Simply 1 percent of the unregistered have donated money to a political candidate or organisation, and simply 5 percent have attended a community meeting. Nevertheless, fifteen pct have done unpaid volunteer piece of work. The civic behaviors of the unregistered population did not differ significantly from those of respondents who rarely or never vote and, in some cases, occasional voters were nearly as disengaged.

Voting registration

Amongst the unregistered population, responses differed about possibly registering to vote in the future. Overall, 43 percent of the unregistered said zero would motivate them to register, 13 pct said something might, and 44 per centum were undecided. Those who were open to registration tended to be younger: 40-six percent of those who said they would annals were between 18 and 29 years old, compared with 21 percent ages 45 to 59 and just eleven percent 60 or older.

Voting registration

Among the unregistered, those who said they would annals reported patterns of civic engagement that closely resembled those observed for occasional or semifrequent voters. 14 pct of unregistered individuals who said they would register and semifrequent voters had worked informally to solve a trouble in their customs, and 21 and 27 percent of those groups, respectively, had engaged in economic protest. Similarly, 27 percent of those who would annals had done unpaid volunteer piece of work, 6 percent had contributed money to a candidate, and 8 percent had attended a community coming together, all which closely track the rates among occasional voters (25 percent, half dozen percent, and 7 percent, respectively. Run into Figure 9.)

Conclusion

The unregistered differ in many means from those who vote frequently: They are less interested in politics, less engaged in civic activities, and more cynical most their ability to understand and influence authorities, but they are non appreciably different on these measures from individuals who are registered but rarely vote. Nevertheless, the unregistered population is not entirely unengaged from civic life; some indicated that they would annals, and that group also reported participating in community or political activities at rates similar to occasional and semifrequent voters. Further, more than 40 pct of the unregistered cared who would win the presidency in 2016, and some indicated that they could be motivated to register in the time to come, though many also experience that the voting procedure does not affect the style governing decisions are made. These findings suggest that opportunities exist to appoint segments of the unregistered population, including through consistent outreach at motor vehicle agencies as required under the NVRA and public teaching campaigns designed to highlight the significance of individual voter participation to ballot outcomes and the connection between local policies and problems these citizens care almost, such as those for which they volunteer in their communities. Less than 20 per centum of this group has been asked to register by a state agency, and a substantial increase in that effigy could assist to improve registration rates and electoral participation amongst these asunder citizens.

Methodology

The Voting Frequency Survey was conducted online in English and Spanish from March 25 to April nineteen, 2016, past the GfK Group on behalf of The Pew Charitable Trusts. The full sample size was three,763 U.S. citizens 18 years or older. GfK sampled households from its KnowledgePanel, a probability-based, nationally representative web panel. The margin of error, calculated with the pattern effect, at the 95 pct level of conviction for the total sample is plus or minus ane.nine pct points. A total methodology, including margins of mistake for primal subgroups, is given in Appendix A: Voting Frequency Survey Methodology, available on the chartbook webpage. The survey questions and frequencies are available in Appendix B: Voting Frequency Survey Topline.

Endnotes

  1. The Census Bureau calculated that 35.4 percent of eligible citizens were not registered to vote in 2014, as reported in "Who Votes? Congressional Elections and the American Electorate: 1978-2014," July sixteen, 2015, https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2015/demo/p20-577.html. However, researchers agree that this calculation artificially inflates the per centum of the population that is unregistered because it includes those who were not asked or did not reply the registration question in the Voting and Registration Supplement as being unregistered. More than data on the method for adjusting the registration charge per unit can be establish in The Pew Charitable Trusts, Elections Functioning Index: Methodology (Baronial 2016), http://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/assets/2016/08/epi_methodology.pdf.
  2. The National Voter Registration Act applies to 44 states and the District of Columbia. Idaho, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming are exempt considering at the fourth dimension the police force was implemented, they offered Election Solar day registration or had no registration requirements.
  3. National Conference of State Legislatures, "Automatic Voter Registration," March 8, 2017, http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/automated-voter-registration.aspx.
  4. National Conference of State Legislatures, "Same 24-hour interval Voter Registration," Jan. 11, 2017, http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/same-twenty-four hours-registration.aspx.
  5. Differences are inside the margins of error, which are three.62 percentage points for the subgroup of unregistered respondents and 2.21 pct points for registered voters.
  6. Eric Geller and Darren Samuelsohn, "More than Than 20 States Accept Faced Major Election Hacking Attempts, DHS Says," Politico, October. iii, 2016, http://www.pol.com/story/2016/09/states-major-election-hacking-228978.
  7. D.J. Neri, Jess Leifer, and Anthony Barrows, "Graduating Students into Voters" (April 2016), http://world wide web.aascu.org/programs/ADP/StudentsintoVoters.pdf.
  8. Michael P. McDonald, The states Elections Projection,"Voter Turnout," accessed Feb. half dozen, 2017, http://www.electproject.org/dwelling/voter-turnout/voter-turnout-data.
  9. The question asked: "There are many types of elections such as federal elections for president and members of Congress, primary elections where voters choose political party nominees, local elections for city council and school board, and special elections when vacancies ascend in between scheduled elections. Which best describes how often you vote, since you became eligible? Every election without exception, Almost every election – may have missed one or two, Some elections, Rarely, Don't vote in elections." The four frequencies of voting reverberate respondents' answers to the question of how oft they vote. Individuals who answered "Every election without exception" are divers as frequent voters, "Near every election – may have missed one or two" are semifrequent voters, "Some elections" are categorized as occasional voters, and the answers "Rarely" and "Don't vote in elections" were combined into a group chosen rare or nonvoters, both due to sample size and because these ii groups were nearly identical on key measures.
  10. Richard G. Niemi, Stephen C. Craig, and Franco Mattei, "Measuring Internal Political Efficacy in the 1988 National Ballot Study," The American Political Science Review 85, no. 4 (1991): 1407–13, doi:10.2307/1963953.

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