Spring 2006 - National Campaign Students Release Report on State Voter Education Web Sites
Introduction
Navigating the Vote:
A review of how state voter education websites address the needs of young voters.
Spring 2006
In 2004, the Institute of Politics at Harvard University debuted its Guide to Absentee Voting -- an online resource of state-specific information for students voting by absentee ballot. It was a simple idea: students today use the internet for everything from academics to entertainment to communication. In order to reach them effectively, we needed to put our research where they would look for it. The website was accessed over 58,000 times by students across the country prior to the 2004 election and thousands more times since then, confirming that today’s college students turn to the internet for answers to questions that arise in all parts of their lives. However, the success of the website told us something else; something we feel is even more significant. It told us that young people are not apathetic. In fact, they are proactive, seeking out information about how they can play a role in our democracy.
Basic economic principles tell us that systems work best when supply and demand are in balance. The success of the Guide to Absentee Voting proves that the demand for accessible and accurate voter information exists among young people. The purpose of this project is to evaluate the supply of information provided to new and absentee voters through state voter information websites. The reviews compiled in this report represent the opinions of college students tasked to learn how to vote absentee in particular states as if they had no experience with the process. However unscientific, the data presented here provides a compelling story of the status of voter information websites. Some websites are truly comprehensive, providing information in multiple languages, font sizes, and formats. Others were less creative, but similarly effective, displaying an understanding of the population of voters in the state and addressing those voters’ needs. All have strengths and weaknesses, and the students who reviewed the voter information websites have made recommendations for how each state can improve its website accessibility.
Many often categorize today’s young Americans as disconnected, uninformed, and disinterested. I challenge you to prove this stereotype wrong by implementing effective websites that reach out to our nation’s newest voters. The easier it is to find correct and complete information, the more likely young people are to make use of that information and vote. It is that simple. Help us show young voters that our nation wants and needs to hear their voices. Help us ensure that today’s college students are tomorrow’s concerned, committed, and engaged citizens.