High rates of geographic mobility within the United States, along with requirements for preregistration that frequently accompany an address change; contribute significantly to America’s low rates of voter registration and turnout. Tens of millions of Americans move each year.
African Americans, Latinos, low-income people and young people are usually mobile. It is no surprise that these same groups are also less likely to be registered and to turn out to vote. Indeed, nearly 75 million voting age citizens sat out the 2008 presidential election. Nearly 60 million of those citizens had been not registered to vote.
The United States is a highly mobile society. Almost 35.2 million U.S. residents, over 1 in 8, moved between 2007 and 2008. Almost 26.4 million voting-age residents, again over 1 in 8, moved between 2007 and 2008. Twenty-four percent of voting-age citizens resided at their current address for two years or less in 2008. The vast majority of voting age movers (83%) relocated to a new address within the same state between 2007 and 2008. Almost two-thirds (64%) stayed within the same county.
Straightforward policies like automatic voter registration, voter registration at public agencies, and Same Day Registration can assist ensure that the move to a brand new home, for a new job, or for schooling doesn’t lead to a lost chance to vote. Individuals of color, low-income individuals and also the young are much more likely to move.
Race and ethnicity: African Americans and Latinos are probably the most likely to move. Between 2007 and 2008, 15 percent of each African Americans and Latinos over age 16 reported altering addresses. Mobility rates had been lower for whites (10%) and Asians (13%). Twenty-nine percent of African Americans reported living at their current address for two years or less in 2008, as compared to 22 percent of whites and 18 percent of Asians.
Income: Low-income people are over twice as likely to move as those with incomes above the poverty line. In between 2007 and 2008, 23 percent of those below the poverty line moved, as compared to only 10 percent of those above the line.
Age: Young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 are the most likely to move. In between 2007 and 2008, 24 percent of young adults moved. Mobility rates significantly decline for older age groups: only 18 percent of those 25-39 years old, 7 percent of those 40-64 years old, and 4 percent of those aged 65 and more than moved in between 2007 and 2008. Whilst young adults had been probably the most likely to move, they were also among the most likely to remain within exactly the same state and/or county: 84 percent of 18-24 year old movers remained in the same state and 65 percent remained inside the same county. Probably the most mobile are least most likely to be registered or to turn out to vote.
Racial and ethnic minorities: Seventy percent of voting-age African American and 59 percent of voting-age Latino citizens were registered to vote in 2008, as compared to 73 percent of whites. Sixty-six percent of white citizens turned out to vote compared to 65 percent of African American and 50 percent of Latino citizens.
Young individuals: Fifty-eight percent of citizens age 18-24 had been registered to vote in 2008, as compared to 74 percent of those age 40-64 and 77 percent of those 65 and over. Similarly, 77 percent of citizens age 65 and older and 68 percent of 40-64 year-olds cast ballots, as compared to only 49 percent of young adults age 18-24.
The house foreclosure crisis may create a brand new class of unregistered voters. The current spike in house foreclosures increases mobility and can swell the ranks of voters who should re-register. By Might 2009, almost two million houses had gone into foreclosure. Subprime loans and home foreclosures are heavily concentrated in low-income communities of color. Actually, even when controlling for income, communities of color have considerably greater foreclosure rates than predominantly white communities. The greatest numbers of foreclosures were in California (96,560), Florida (64,588), and Nevada (16,266).The 5 states with the greatest concentrations of foreclosures were Nevada (1 in 67 homes), Florida (1 in 134), California (1 in 137), Arizona (1 in 164), and Ohio (1 in 410). A number of straightforward policies can help enfranchise voters who move. Automatic registration. Most democracies around the world take responsibility for registering eligible citizens to vote and updating the voter rolls as they move. Election officials in states like Minnesota have proposed to automatically register citizens when they apply for government services, unless they decline, and use postal change-of-address notices to update existing voter registration files. Comparable measures to modernize voter registration ought to be considered by Congress. Public agency-based voter registration. Numerous states are not supplying voter registration services to applicants and recipients of public advantages such as Food Stamps and Medicaid, as needed by the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. Proper implementation of the law, which demands voter registration services to become supplied with address changes as well as with benefits applications and recertification, could reach many of the most mobile and least registered of citizens. Enforcement of federal “fail-safe” voting provisions. The National Voter Registration Act also demands that registered voters who move within their registrar’s jurisdiction, typically a county, be permitted to vote even when they have not notified the registrar of the address alter. Since most people move inside the same county, efficient monitoring and enforcement of this provision of the NVRA can assist make sure those that move are able to cast a ballot that will count. Same Day Registration (SDR).With SDR, citizens who lately moved into a brand new election district can register and vote in the time in the election, even if voter registration deadlines have passed. The nine states that provide Same Day Registration lead the nation in voter registration rates whilst sustaining the sound and efficient administration of elections.