Young people may be more motivated to vote when their states face controversial ballot measures on issues like gay marriage and marijuana.
Although young voter turnout remained low this midterm election, at an estimated 21.5 percent, data from Tufts University’s Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) suggests that turnout was higher in states with competitive races and ballot measures of interest to millennials.
In 2014, states with competitive races saw 26.8 percent young voter turnout. CIRCLE then broke that down into competitive races with or without “hot-button” ballot initiatives. This year turnout was about the same for both: 27.9 percent turnout for competitive races with ballot measures, and 26 percent for competitive races with no ballot measures.
But when they compared those numbers to the 2010 midterm election, they saw a significant jump in turnout this year in states with “hot-button” ballot measures.
According to CIRCLE, the states they compared had equally competitive races in 2010, making the ballot measures the only remaining factor to influence higher turnout.
CIRCLE’s chart below illustrates the 5-point jump in turnout for states with hot-button issue ballot measures:
Some had already speculated that Florida’s unusually high percentage of youth voters this year—14 percent of the electorate, compared to 8 percent in the past—was driven by a proposal to legalize medical marijuana. The proposal failed to gain a 60 percent majority by a few points, but was especially popular among young people.
Past studies of the relationship between ballot measures and youth turnout have been inconclusive. In some instances, like Colorado’s 2012 vote that legalized marijuana, youth turnout appeared to rise. But other measures, like a marijuana initiative in Washington State, did not have the same effect.
More information on CIRCLE’s analysis is available here.
