Andrew Goodman Foundation Summer Institute Deck

Technology and Civic Engagement

Increasing youth voter registration and democratic participation in

2016

• Youth vote matters • Barriers to youth participation• Our solution• Technology & civic engagement • Breakouts/discussion

The Plan

Why does youth civic engagement matter?

The “Youth Vote” in 2016

Politicians want the youth vote

Youth voting is important!• Young people are a major subset of the voting-

eligible population and their voices matter: In 2012 youth (18-29) made up 19% of the electorate.

• Returning voters turn out at higher rates. Engaging college student ensures the future of democratic participation.

• Election-related activities for young people can indirectly affect the behavior of others in their environment.

The “Youth Vote” in 2016• “Millennials” (18-34) say they want to vote in 2016.

• A Fusion poll found that 77% of millennials are “absolutely certain” or “very likely” to vote this year.

• The number of youth votes more than tripled in Mississippi (14,000 in 2008 to 49,000 in 2016) and Nebraska (5,000 in 2008 to 16,000 in 2016)

• Iowa: 15% of total caucus goers were youths, and 2016 set a record for Republican youth turnout.

• New Hampshire: 42% of all youth (18-29) NH residents voted tying turnout levels in 2008 primary; that’s more than 88,000 young people

• New York: An estimated 408,000 young people (18-29) cast ballots in New York, making up 15% of all voters in the state primary, surpassing youth turnout in 2008 by almost 100,000 votes.

But historically, young people vote at the lowest

rates…

18-24 18-29

25+ 30+

So, why don’t young people vote?

Don’t they care?

Source: CIRCLE; Research gathered by Pew Center for the People and the Press

“Giving Thought to the Election”

59%“Quite a lot”

28%“Following election news very closely”

2/3 of college students (18-24) who did not vote in 2010

cited lack of information about process, not lack of

interest.SOURCE: CIRCLE

More than 40% of youth voters don’t know key process information

Key Takeaways• The process is complicated! And varies

substantially from state to state.

• Giving students information about how, when, and where to vote is key to increasing participation.

• Providing this information for local elections is particularly important.

TurboVote

Since 2012, TurboVote has partnered with over 250 colleges and universities and served more than

325,000 voters.

The TurboVote toolmakes it easyto provide people with the information & materials they need to vote in every election

Our system manages personal election calendars for all of our users. We track:

• Registration & absentee voting requirements for all 50 states, so we can keep users up-to-date with location-specific election information

• Dates and deadlines for national, state and local elections

When users need to register or request a vote-by-mail ballot, we send them their pre-

filled forms, with stamped, addressed envelopes.

TurboVote sends text and email reminders with important

dates and deadlines.

…So our users never miss another election.

Voter TurnoutFor users registered with TurboVote in 2012

Implementation

Bottlenecks:On-The-Ground Online

On-the-GroundTablingFind an active, high-traffic area on campusSet up laptops/smartphones open to TurboVoteGrab items: food, accessories, stickers, swag

EventsAdd TurboVote to already existing campus eventsHost new events to implement TurboVote NVRD, anyone?!

OrientationLarge population of students already thereJust moved/changed addressMight have recently turned 18/about to turn 18

OnlineEmail BlastsSend from university presidents/deans to the student body Emphasize urgency and importance of registering to vote and voting

Campus ComputersPlace calls-to-action on university computers, so whenever a student logs onto the network, they have to acknowledge the call

Student PortalsPlace calls-to-action or links on high- traffic student websites, like LMSs and/or academic portals

Computer Card Initiative

• Business card-sized sign was printed, cut out and delivered to a person in each building on campus.

• They were attached to the monitors on the computers in each lab - over 1000 computers!

• Only cost ~$26 in removable adhesive dots, toner, cardstock, scissors - and a lot of counting! About 4 hours of work total.

Top AdministratorsSend the email from the President or Dean

Specific Subject LineUse a specific and action-oriented subject line.

Mass EmailsShortKeep it brief!

Insert linksPlace the link to your co-branded TurboVote site early in your email.

Follow UpSend a follow-up email that conveys a senseof urgency (match with upcoming deadline).

Social Media FacebookPromote through Official University page, Student Government page, College Republicans/Democrats, etc.

Create Facebook Events to promote in-person events, process related deadlines, etc.

TwitterShort, simple, trendy: @TurboVote, always share link.

Campaign IdeasCompetitions between student groups (use referral codes), photo based campaigns, live-tweeting civic engagement events/debates

Lone Star Collegevia Oracle PeopleSoft

Indiana State Universityvia MyISU

Kutztown University via D2L, KU’s learning management system

Integrating voter engagement into mandatory student “check in” process

Breakout Discussions• What does voter registration and engagement

look like on your campus?

What do you do on campus that might be unique? Why do these strategies/tactics work well on your campus?

• Identify the following if you were to pursue an IT integration on campus:

The whoThe whatThe when The whyThe how

turbovote.tools

[email protected]

Integrate• School-wide email

• Social Media

• Course curriculum

• Standard student processes such as:– Course registration– ID card – Move in packets– Freshman orientation– Email login – FYE courses

Civic Engagement at Stetson University

Veronica Hernandez, Center for Community Engagement

Implementation Tactics● One-stop election website for students to use for

voter registration, education, engagement and turnout

● Team of student volunteers conduct voter registration, education, engagement and turnout operations, called Stetson Votes!

● Incorporation into first-year orientation, some classes and residence halls

● In 2016… ○ Organizing Stetson Votes team around residence

halls as their “turf” ○ Email and Facebook-based targeting for

commuters○ Working to integrate into all first-year seminars

Measuring Stetson’s Success

● Campus GOTV using a shared campus-wide student database

● NSLVE data from CIRCLE/Tufts○ NSLVE: National Study of Learning, Voting and

Engagement

● In 2012… ○ Stetson’s voter turnout rate: 54.5% ○ Students who used TurboVote voted at a rate that was

5.6% higher than non-TurboVote users○ Students who registered to vote using their on-campus

address voted at a rate that was 18.1% higher than off-campus/back-at-home users

Civic Engagement at Kutztown University

Implementation Tactics• Promote TurboVote at community events • Set up info tables at student union & dining

halls

• Send regular messages about the importance of voting

• SGB hosts a popular registration day event

• Only students who sign up for TurboVote can vote in homecoming election

Computer Card Initiative

• Business card-sized sign was printed, cut out and delivered to a person in each building on campus.

• They were attached to the monitors on the computers in each lab - over 1000 computers!

• Only cost ~$26 in removable adhesive dots, toner, cardstock, scissors - and a lot of counting! About 4 hours of work total.

Signs of Success

• Significant turnout at polling locations that serve students

• In 2012, nearly 1.5K students signed up. – 1,063 for voter registration– 662 for absentee ballot requests

• Awarded grant from Pennsylvania Campus Compact