Motivating and supporting youth to vote using theory-driven approaches

Many Americans distrust the government, are disillusioned with the political process, and don’t view voting as an effective form of political engagement. Such disillusionment is higher among young Americans, who are disproportionately underrepresented in government. Although voting is an essential action citizens can take to influence and reshape the government, the majority of youth don’t vote regularly. Youth face substantial structural and psychological barriers that interact in particular ways during emerging adulthood to create friction that reduces youth voting and perpetuates cycles of political disempowerment. Executive Order 14248 and the SAVE Act will create new barriers to voting by requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, which is expected to disproportionately affect youth who lack access to valid identification documents at higher rates than older Americans. In the face of mounting structural barriers, it is increasingly important to design effective interventions to motivate and support youth to vote. This commentary outlines a psychologically-informed approach to designing get-out-the-vote initiatives to help youth overcome psychological barriers. It describes the developmental context of emerging adulthood and the challenges and opportunities this period poses for voting, and how developmental factors interact with structural and psychological barriers to impede voting. It then reviews theory and research from psychology, communication, and political science to provide recommendations for creating developmentally appropriate, theory-based get-out-the-vote initiatives. It also describes participatory co-design approaches that can increase intervention effectiveness while also supporting youth civic identity development and democratic skill building.