The deadline to register to vote in Ohio is Monday, October 5, and some advocacy groups are racing to get the word out with six weeks left before the November election.
Felice Nudelman is executive director of the American Democracy Project, which works on youth voter engagement on college campuses across the country. She noted young voters still are less likely to vote than any other age group.
"We've been doing voter education for quite a long time so that students understand it's not just the action of registering, it is the action of being part of a democracy, of democratic practice," Nudelman said. "And voting is one example of Democratic practice."
While about half of Americans aged 18 to 24 registered to vote in the 2016 election, only 39% cast a ballot. Ohioans can register to vote or check their registration status online at voteohio.gov.
Ohio's voter turnout in 2016 was about 70%. However, with the pandemic and post office problems, casting a ballot this year could be a challenge.
Nudelman contends it's worth the effort.
"This election is different because of COVID. It's different because we can't do sort of the normal things that we do," she said. "But our voices are not limited. And the Democratic action that we take as voters is still critically important."
A recent poll found almost half of Americans think they'll have difficulty casting a ballot in the November 3 election. And 83% of registered voters say it really matters who wins the presidency, up from 74% in the 2016 presidential election.
Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.
