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http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp010v838372s| Title: | The time tax: America’s newest form of voter suppression for Millennials, and how it must be eliminated to make voting accessible for the next generation |
| Contributors: | Allen, Caroline Schneider, Marian Culliton-González, Katherine |
| Keywords: | Suffrage—United States Election law—United States |
| Issue Date: | 18-Nov-2013 |
| Publisher: | Advancement Project / OurTime.org |
| Place of Publication: | Los Angeles |
| Description: | Young voters and voters of color are often overlapping demographics. Young Americans are more racially diverse than the general population because of the changing demographics of the United States, and census data shows that this trend will continue dramatically in coming years. An estimated 22-23 million young voters (aged 18-29) turned out during the 2012 election, comprising 19% of the American electorate—a greater share than in 2008 (18%) and 2004 (17%) respectively. Voters of color have also become an increasingly important share of the American electorate. Yet while the proportion of young voters and voters of color has generally been increasing, participation is much less than it should be. Although African American voter turnout has been increasing since 2000, the turnout of Latino voters, who comprise the fastest-increasing demographic due to their youth, dropped from 49.9% in 2008 to 48% in 2012. Similarly, the turnout of Asian-American voters, also a younger and rapidly growing demographic, dropped from 47.6% in 2008 to 47.3% in 2012. Moreover, turnout among the youngest voters (18-24 years old) dropped from 48.5% in 2008 to 41.2% in 2012. A close examination from OurTime.org and Advancement Project also reveals that young voters, and specifically young voters of color who did vote, turned out in spite of numerous ballot barriers, not because the system worked efficiently. We are experiencing the largest wave of voter suppression since the enactment of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, with clear disparate impact on communities of color. As this report discusses, voter suppression also has an impact on young voters. Our report takes an in-depth look at long lines in Florida and Virginia, the two states with the longest wait times in 2012, demonstrating how young people waited disproportionately longer than the general population in both states. It also highlights other instances of disenfranchisement of young voters of color during the 2012 election, as well as staggering concerns about increasing voter suppression in 2013 and the foreseeable future. We believe that our country not only needs to, but can, fix all that. We therefore recommend seven common sense election reforms that will make it easier, rather than harder, for younger voters to fully participate in our democracy. All of these issues are under the mandate of the Presidential Commission on Election Administration (“PCEA”), which we urge to recommend the changes necessary for young voters to no longer be disenfranchised. |
| URI: | http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp010v838372s |
| Related resource: | https://advancementproject.org/resources/reports/ |
| Appears in Collections: | Monographic reports and papers (Publicly Accessible) |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TheTimeTax.pdf | 1.1 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Download |
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