Voting is one of the fundamental pillars sustaining democracy. The 2020 general election mobilized more voters in the small town of Athens, Ohio, than any election in the past decade with a voter turnout of around 67%, according to the Athens County Board of Elections' summary results report. Major political changes were perceived to raise interest in the 2022 midterm significantly, said Anne Sparks, an Athens resident who volunteered for voter registration. But when it came to Election Day 2022, voter turnout was low.
6,329 fewer people registered to vote in the 2022 midterm elections than in the 2022 midterm elections, according to the summary results reports of the Athens County Board of Elections. Election night results showed that voter turnout in Athens decreased from 51.12% to 49.58% since the last midterm, with 19,331 voters casting ballots at the polls this year compared to 23,167 in 2018, according to the Athens County Board of Elections.
That is surprising to Athens residents volunteering to help promote voter education. Midterm election cycles generally experience less turnout than presidential elections, but more people than usual came up to the Court Street volunteer tables for registration and election information this year, Sparks said. She attributes this to the recent overturn of Roe v. Wade: "There is more interest than usual for the midterm," Sparks said before Election Day. To Adriane Mohlenkamp, co-president of the League of Women Voters of Athens County, that interest was tangible in conversations about the election: "My personal impression was that people were more interested and engaged in talking about this midterm election than past ones."
Voter education: preparing Athens for the election
Taking part in an election encompasses more than showing up and casting a ballot. Educating voters can contribute to informed political participation, but a lack of it could be a reason for the drop in voter turnout. Mohlenkamp describes voter education as a three-step process that needs to be completed to fully participate in an election. First, voters need to be aware of the requirement to be registered to vote and how to register. Second, voters need to learn about issues and candidates on the ballot. Finally, voters need to decide on a form of voting, like in-person voting, early voting or absentee ballot.
Leading up to this year's midterm, eligible Athens voters were not on their own when gearing up for the election and completing those steps. Registration events hosted by the League of Women Voters gave citizens the opportunity to understand the process and register immediately, Mohlenkamp said. Sparks and her colleagues were a one-stop shop for preparing the midterm: registering, getting information on candidates and issues, as well as community-informed recommendations to vote were all available at the Court Street tables.
Spreading information is a key component of Athens voter education. For example, the League of Women Voters distributed voter information packets to local social service organizations, which provided voters with information sheets, a voter registration form and an absentee ballot request form, according to Mohlenkamp. The organization also published a voter guide online and in local publications and hosted forums for candidates to respond to locally relevant questions.
Uninformed voters
Even with informational services available to further voter education in Athens, voter turnout has been lower than Sparks and Mohlenkamp expected. Resources might be plenty, but people have to vote on their own, Mohlenkamp said. "You have to put a little effort into figuring out how to do that and take the steps to learn it," Mohlenkamp said. "As a state, we could do a better job of preemptively giving information to people," Mohlenkamp said. Not having experienced voting in one's family or lacking a politically interested peer group is another factor blocking access to, and awareness of, voter information, Mohlenkamp said.
Sparks identified a lack of awareness and understanding as a crucial problem in Athens. "When people stop and say they already have the information they need to vote I ask them if they're aware of the issues that are on the ballot to add these amendments to the constitution of the state, and they usually say 'no,'" Sparks said. The official information that is available, however, is locked behind a language barrier: Most of the misunderstanding stems from complicated wording, according to Sparks.
Ohio University acts against voter decrease
While it isn't a political institution, Ohio University offers opportunities for students to get in touch with voting. Mary Nally, director of the Ohio University Center for Campus and Community Engagement, works to increase voter turnout among students. OU students have always been politically active, Nally said. Her office works with the Ohio University College Democrats, the Ohio University College Republicans, the Ohio University Students For Liberty and the American Civil Liberties Union Ohio chapter to further civic engagement and voter education.
Each election cycle, a variety of programs on voter education are offered, such as tabling and targeted classroom dialogue to help students become informed voters, according to Nally. For this midterm election, students were taught to pay close attention to what is on the ballot and to their elected representatives to be, Nally said. This year's second Civic Engagement Forum on Oct. 27 included a panel of young elected millennial and Generation Z officials that are in current positions across the state. "This strategic plan and the work that we have done collaboratively with the students led to Ohio University receiving a national designation as Voter Friendly Campus," which the school still remains today, Nally said.
Compared to the greater Athens population, the voter turnout among university students remains high. With 1,275 registrations and 810 cast votes, the Baker University Center, the polling location assigned to students living on campus, outranks any other polling place in Athens, according to the Athens County Board of Elections' number key canvass. "Colleges and universities play a critical role in imparting the skills, attitudes and knowledge that are fundamental to democratic citizenship," Nally said. "Civic engagement education is central to the vitality of democracy and the educational mission of colleges and universities in the 21st century."
Voting eligibility and accessibility
A lack of access to educational material and non-eligibility to vote can affect voter turnout negatively. Missing registration deadlines is a major factor prohibiting people from voting, Sparks said. She urges voters to double-check their registration even after successfully signing up. "There is a tendency among some officials in certain areas to come up with some reason why people's registrations should be dropped," Sparks said. To avoid those situations, the Athens County Board of Elections ensures people's registrations are processed and follows up with voters, according to Mohlenkamp. However, only when there is still time to re-register can potential issues be fixed: Even after Oct. 11, the last day of registration, Sparks encountered many people unaware of those deadlines.
After a successful registration, casting a vote is still not guaranteed. To Nally, the reason is the voting process. Ohio is one of the 10 most complicated states to vote in the nation, considering time and effort put into potential voter registration, ballot accessibility and opportunities for vote casting, according to the 2022 Cost of Voting study.
Accessibility of information is a crucial point in enabling election participation and a lack of internet access can prevent voters from getting informed, according to Mohlenkamp: "If you have unusual or uncommon circumstances, it's going to be harder to find the information that you need."
Experts like Nally see a potential further drop in registration and voter turnout on the horizon, caused by the currently proposed amendments to the Ohio House Bill 294: If passed, it shortens the absentee ballot request period to end 10 days before an election instead of the previous three and cancels early voting on Monday prior to Election Day in addition to other changes to the voting process, according to the Ohio Legislative Service Commission.
Increasing political activity
Living up to its comparatively high voter turnout, OU stays at the forefront of tackling the lack of interest in voter education and the inability to vote. "Our office has every intention of continuing our efforts to equip each student with the resources to register and vote every election cycle," Nally said. For that, a current student-driven project aims at requesting university leadership to mark Election Days as holidays in the future, making it easier to find the time to vote. Led by graduate assistant Ben Yussif, ongoing research on strategies and national best practices is supposed to increase the number of students that are informed and motivated voters. Nally also highlights the current development of a civic engagement student advisory group.
The active political participation of OU students is mirrored in millennials and Gen Z across the nation. By 2024, Gen Z and millennial voters will outnumber baby boomers, who have previously been the largest voting bloc for over 30 years, according to a study by The Center for American Progress. "It is really ultimately about the power of student voices and student votes, which is particularly pertinent currently in the United States," Nally said.
Awareness is the most important issue to tackle for a higher turnout. "The biggest thing that people can do to promote voting is just talking about it," Mohlenkamp said. To increase the voter turnout for the next election, systems need to become more accessible and a talking culture on voting needs to be cultivated, according to Mohlenkamp. "That's going to take effort on the part of everybody in Ohio," Mohlenkamp said.
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