The Largest Generation Project

Part of preparing students for life is preparing them to vote.

In most states, students can pre-register before they are 18 then they’ll automatically be registered when they do turn 18!

When kids learn how to register or pre-register, rates can rise to as high as 96%.

Our media repeatedly interprets young people’s low voter turnout as apathy. But are they really to blame? Consider these facts:

  • Most democracies either automatically register voters, or make registration mandatory. The U.S. puts the burden on citizens, makes it optional, and unlike other democracies, makes little effort to engage unregistered voters.

  • Putting the registration burden on citizens means that we also assign kids the responsibility to register themselves and their peers. Not coincidentally, a majority of young voters, both registered and unregistered, say they have never been asked to register, by anyone.

    Is it any surprise that our national youth registration rate is about 58%?

Here’s the good news: young REGISTERED voters have shown up at a rate of over 75% in every presidential election since 2004! In 2020, registered youth voted at a whopping rate of 86%.

Youth aren’t apathetic—they’re just under-registered!

A Different Paradigm

In our Voter Readiness workshop, teachers guide students to work through issues of motivation and misinformation; teach students about their power; and conclude with an opt-out pre-registration lesson.

Our approach to student pre-registration is grounded in the data that emerged after 25 states adopted Automatic Voter Registration. (All saw a significant rise in their adult registration rates, even though the process only applied to voters interacting with their Department of Motor Vehicles.) AVR embedded automated registration into a mandatory government interaction. When it takes less effort to opt-in than it does to opt-out, registration rates rise. In-class student registration creates a similar shift: it’s easier to opt in than to opt out.

The collective framework prevents procrastination, and peers create more motivation to register.  Once students learn how to fill out the form, they 're given the option not to submit it—but this very rarely happens. When we looked at U.S. counties that boasted extraordinarily pre-registration rates, and talked to local teachers and election officials, the persuasive power of the classroom setting came up again and again.

A Project with Ripple Effect Potential

High schools are the ONLY American institution offering the ability to reach, teach, and register nearly ALL voters born in any one year. Because they’ve developed a relationship of trust, teachers are uniquely positioned to accomplish this quickly and effectively. And once they begin to facilitate pre-registration, teachers continue to do so, year after year.

In addition, the earlier a citizen identifies as a voter, the more ingrained the habit becomes. Young voters, once registered, become supervoters! Working in high schools creates durable gains, in both registration and turnout.

Our dream is that EVERY student leaves high school registered and ready. It’s what kids deserve, and what our democracy needs.