What Is The Relative Frequency Of Adults In The Sample Who Are Not Registered To Vote

Why Are Millions of Citizens Not Registered to Vote?

A survey of the civically unengaged finds they lack interest, but outreach opportunities be

Issue Brief June 21, 2017 Read time:

Why Are Millions of Citizens Non Registered to Vote?

Voter registration

Overview

In every state and the Commune of Columbia—except Northward Dakota—individuals who plan to vote in a federal election must start register to vote. However, a sizable share of eligible citizens practice not register. Official statistics vary, just a conservative estimate, calculated using data from the U.S. Census Bureau'south nigh recent Voting and Registration Supplement, indicates that 21.iv percent were non registered to vote in 2014.¹

Registration's importance to the voting process and the large number of individuals who remain unregistered have spurred several major reforms intended to increase voter registration. Nearly notably, the federal regime's National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) requires that states let eligible citizens to register to vote when completing other transactions at state motor vehicle and social services agencies, a provision commonly known as Motor Voter.² Since enactment of the police, some states accept expanded on this requirement by automating the Motor Voter procedure. Colorado upgraded its Motor Voter procedure in 2017, and Oregon became the outset country to implement automatic voter registration in 2016, with at to the lowest degree 6 more planning to implement similar policies in the future.^three Other states offering Same Day Registration, which allows individuals to register and vote on Ballot 24-hour interval, oftentimes correct at their polling places.^iv

Despite these efforts, trivial is known about eligible only unregistered U.Southward. citizens' exposure to opportunities to register, reasons for choosing not to, or attitudes toward the balloter organisation and borough engagement, or how many of them are interested in registering in the future. To brainstorm to fill this gap, The Pew Charitable Trusts commissioned a nationally representative survey conducted in March and April 2016 that included a large population of unregistered individuals. This chartbook presents findings from the survey about the attitudes and experiences of those who said they were not registered to vote in the months preceding the 2016 presidential election, including:

Less than 20 percent of eligible citizens have been offered the chance to annals at a motor vehicle or other regime agency.
The unregistered were more likely to say they exercise not vote considering they dislike politics or believe voting volition not make a divergence, while people who are registered but vote infrequently say they do not vote more often considering they are not informed plenty about the candidates or bug.
At least 13 percent of the unregistered, generally those who are younger and more civically engaged, say they could be motivated to register in the hereafter.

Voting registration

Considering the American voting organization requires individuals to register before they tin vote, many political campaigns, nonprofits, religious organizations, and other groups hold voter registration drives. Despite these well-publicized efforts, more 60 per centum of adult citizens have never been asked to register to vote, and the rate was almost identical amongst individuals who are and are not registered.⁵ Among respondents who had been invited to register, the nearly likely context was by an official at a motor vehicle agency, social service bureau, or other government office. However, less than xx percent of all those surveyed reported such an occurrence, which indicates that the NVRA has non been successful at reaching a large per centum of the population.

Voting registration

Forty-iv per centum of eligible unregistered individuals say they practice non want to vote. Another 27 pct say they intend to register merely oasis't done so nonetheless, and 25 percent say they are unregistered because they have not been inspired by a candidate or effect. Eleven percent exercise not want to register due to privacy or security reasons. The survey was conducted earlier revelations in fall 2016 that hackers had targeted data from state voter registration systems, so the results exercise not reflect the public concern near the security of voter information that adult tardily in the campaign.⁶

Voting registration

The unregistered are more likely to indicate a broad distaste for the electoral system than registered individuals, who tend to give ballot-specific motives for nonvoting, such equally disliking the candidates or not knowing plenty nearly the bug. Forty percent of the unregistered say their disfavor to politics is a major reason they don't desire to vote, and 35 percent say voting has lilliputian to exercise with the way existent decisions are fabricated, compared with 20 and nineteen percent of registered but infrequent voters, respectively.

Previous research has constitute that many unregistered students experience they should not vote because they are insecure about their political knowledge.⁷ However, this survey found that but 17 percent of the unregistered population chose not to vote because they are too uninformed nigh the candidates or issues to make skillful decisions, compared with more than than twice that amount—39 percent—of registered infrequent voters.

Voting registration

Some people vote in many types of races, while others turn out simply for certain elections or are registered but never vote. For example, in 2016, approximately lx percent of eligible citizens voted in the presidential ballot, but in the 2014 congressional races, turnout was less than twoscore percent.⁸ To meliorate understand how the unregistered population compares with these different groups of voters, the survey asked respondents to call up nigh the various types of elections and evaluate how ofttimes they accept voted since they were starting time eligible.⁹ Based on measures of people's interest in government, current events, and political bug, unregistered individuals differ very trivial from those who are registered simply rarely or never bandage a election, while frequent voters are more than than three times every bit likely equally the unregistered to express interest in regime.

Voting registration

Despite not participating in elections, 43 percent of the unregistered and 59 percent of rare or nonvoters say they intendance a practiced deal who wins the presidential election. These groups expressed far less interest in the issue of congressional races and presidential primaries, while frequent voters intendance near the winner of all iii types of elections at very high rates. Although some of the unregistered may care who governs, many of these respondents yet were not interested in participating in choosing the president: Just 38 percent said they intended to register but had not washed and so at the time of the survey, and 32 pct said they did not want to vote, probably because of their general belief that voting is asunder from the mode real decisions are made and their feeling that one vote would not affect the result of the election. (See Figure 3.)

Voting registration

Voters diverge significantly from the unregistered in terms of their views about the behaviors that are necessary for a person to be considered a good citizen. Jury service was the about commonly selected beliefs for proficient citizens beyond groups at 69 percent of all respondents. Yet, beyond groups, the priority on jury duty differed widely: Simply 46 percent of the unregistered identified this as an essential responsibility of good citizenship, compared with 87 percent of frequent voters. Voters and the unregistered tended to be more similar-minded nigh behaviors such every bit volunteering fourth dimension to assistance others. 60-4 percent of frequent voters and 48 percent of the unregistered said volunteering is something that a person should practice to be a good citizen. Voting in elections and paying attending to politics were the two behaviors about which voters and the unregistered population differed about. Frequent voters were more than than iii times as probable as the unregistered to say voting is something that good citizens should practice.

Voting registration

An private's conventionalities that he or she is qualified to empathize and participate in politics is considered a key metric for inferring engagement in the political system.^ten All groups, except the most frequent voters, reported that the rules of authorities are difficult to sympathize at roughly like— and loftier—rates. Just when asked if voting could influence the mode the government is run, the unregistered and rare or nonvoters both tended to say information technology does not, which very conspicuously diverged from more frequent voters, who largely said voting does affect governance.

Voting registration

Most people, including more than 80 percent of the unregistered population, said they could have at least a small positive impact on their communities. Occasional, semifrequent, and frequent voters were all most probable to say they could have a moderate effect, while rare and nonvoters were equally likely to cull moderate or minor. The largest share of unregistered respondents said they could have only a small affect.

Voting registration

Given that nonvoters and the unregistered have limited confidence in their ability to affect their communities, the fact that they are less likely to engage in borough and volunteer activities than groups who vote more than often is non surprising. Across different types of activities, the unregistered and nonvoters participate more oftentimes in those that are not political in nature. Only ane percent of the unregistered have donated money to a political candidate or system, and merely five pct have attended a customs meeting. All the same, xv per centum take done unpaid volunteer piece of work. The civic behaviors of the unregistered population did non differ significantly from those of respondents who rarely or never vote and, in some cases, occasional voters were almost as disengaged.

Voting registration

Among the unregistered population, responses differed well-nigh peradventure registering to vote in the future. Overall, 43 percent of the unregistered said zip would motivate them to register, 13 percent said something might, and 44 percent were undecided. Those who were open up to registration tended to be younger: Forty-six per centum of those who said they would register were between 18 and 29 years old, compared with 21 per centum ages 45 to 59 and just 11 pct 60 or older.

Voting registration

Among the unregistered, those who said they would register reported patterns of civic engagement that closely resembled those observed for occasional or semifrequent voters. Xiv per centum of unregistered individuals who said they would annals and semifrequent voters had worked informally to solve a trouble in their community, and 21 and 27 pct of those groups, respectively, had engaged in economic protest. Similarly, 27 percent of those who would register had washed unpaid volunteer work, 6 percentage had contributed money to a candidate, and 8 percent had attended a community meeting, all which closely runway the rates among occasional voters (25 percentage, vi percent, and 7 percent, respectively. See Effigy nine.)

Determination

The unregistered differ in many ways from those who vote frequently: They are less interested in politics, less engaged in civic activities, and more cynical about their ability to understand and influence government, but they are non appreciably different on these measures from individuals who are registered but rarely vote. Yet, the unregistered population is not entirely unengaged from civic life; some indicated that they would register, and that group also reported participating in community or political activities at rates similar to occasional and semifrequent voters. Farther, more 40 pct of the unregistered cared who would win the presidency in 2016, and some indicated that they could be motivated to annals in the future, though many besides feel that the voting procedure does not affect the fashion governing decisions are made. These findings suggest that opportunities exist to engage segments of the unregistered population, including through consistent outreach at motor vehicle agencies equally required nether the NVRA and public education campaigns designed to highlight the significance of individual voter participation to election outcomes and the connexion between local policies and issues these citizens care about, such equally those for which they volunteer in their communities. Less than xx percentage of this group has been asked to register by a state agency, and a substantial increase in that figure could aid to amend registration rates and balloter participation amongst these asunder citizens.

Methodology

The Voting Frequency Survey was conducted online in English language and Spanish from March 25 to April 19, 2016, by the GfK Group on behalf of The Pew Charitable Trusts. The full sample size was 3,763 U.S. citizens 18 years or older. GfK sampled households from its KnowledgePanel, a probability-based, nationally representative spider web panel. The margin of error, calculated with the blueprint outcome, at the 95 pct level of confidence for the total sample is plus or minus one.ix per centum points. A full methodology, including margins of fault for cardinal subgroups, is given in Appendix A: Voting Frequency Survey Methodology, available on the chartbook webpage. The survey questions and frequencies are available in Appendix B: Voting Frequency Survey Topline.

Endnotes

The Census Bureau calculated that 35.4 pct of eligible citizens were not registered to vote in 2014, as reported in "Who Votes? Congressional Elections and the American Electorate: 1978-2014," July xvi, 2015, https://world wide web.census.gov/library/publications/2015/demo/p20-577.html. Yet, researchers agree that this calculation artificially inflates the percentage of the population that is unregistered because it includes those who were not asked or did non respond the registration question in the Voting and Registration Supplement as being unregistered. More information on the method for adjusting the registration rate can be plant in The Pew Charitable Trusts, Elections Performance Alphabetize: Methodology (Baronial 2016), http://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/assets/2016/08/epi_methodology.pdf.
The National Voter Registration Act applies to 44 states and the Commune of Columbia. Idaho, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming are exempt because at the time the police was implemented, they offered Ballot Twenty-four hours registration or had no registration requirements.
National Conference of State Legislatures, "Automatic Voter Registration," March 8, 2017, http://www.ncsl.org/inquiry/elections-and-campaigns/automatic-voter-registration.aspx.
National Conference of State Legislatures, "Same Twenty-four hour period Voter Registration," Jan. 11, 2017, http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/same-day-registration.aspx.
Differences are within the margins of error, which are iii.62 percent points for the subgroup of unregistered respondents and two.21 pct points for registered voters.
Eric Geller and Darren Samuelsohn, "More Than 20 States Take Faced Major Ballot Hacking Attempts, DHS Says," Politico, Oct. three, 2016, http://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/states-major-ballot-hacking-228978.
D.J. Neri, Jess Leifer, and Anthony Barrows, "Graduating Students into Voters" (April 2016), http://world wide web.aascu.org/programs/ADP/StudentsintoVoters.pdf.
Michael P. McDonald, United States Elections Project,"Voter Turnout," accessed Feb. half dozen, 2017, http://www.electproject.org/home/voter-turnout/voter-turnout-data.
The question asked: "There are many types of elections such equally federal elections for president and members of Congress, master elections where voters choose party nominees, local elections for city council and school board, and special elections when vacancies arise in betwixt scheduled elections. Which all-time describes how ofttimes you vote, since you became eligible? Every election without exception, Almost every election – may take missed ane or two, Some elections, Rarely, Don't vote in elections." The four frequencies of voting reflect respondents' answers to the question of how ofttimes they vote. Individuals who answered "Every election without exception" are defined equally frequent voters, "Almost every election – may have missed one or two" are semifrequent voters, "Some elections" are categorized as occasional voters, and the answers "Rarely" and "Don't vote in elections" were combined into a group called rare or nonvoters, both due to sample size and considering these two groups were nearly identical on fundamental measures.
Richard Thousand. Niemi, Stephen C. Craig, and Franco Mattei, "Measuring Internal Political Efficacy in the 1988 National Election Study," The American Political Scientific discipline Review 85, no. four (1991): 1407–xiii, doi:10.2307/1963953.

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