Partner Spotlight: Girls Inc. She Votes

She Votes 2010 participants in Santa Barbara, California.
Photo Courtesy of Girls Inc.

One of our national partners, Girls Inc., offers a variety of programs aimed to inspire girls to be strong, smart, and bold by equipping them to achieve academically, manage money, navigate media messages, lead healthy and physically active lives, and discover an interest in science, technology, engineering, and math. Each year they serve 150,000 girls, ages 6-18.

Although they aren't yet eligible to vote, Girls Inc. is celebrating girls' voices. Since 2004, Girls Inc. affiliates across the country have been hosting mock elections through their She Votes initiative, actively engaging girls in elections and the political process. In 2010, more than 3,600 girls across the country participated in a mock election coinciding with the November midterm.

Not only did the girls get to vote on a national Girls Inc. ballot initiative, but many local chapters also included mock elections for Governor, Congress, and local offices. In Omaha, Nebraska, girls had the opportunity to use real voting machines, and in Shelbyville, Indiana, the girls campaigned among themselves to be elected President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.

In Tarrant County, Texas, the mock election raised questions about the nature and purpose of elections with one girl asking "Why is voting secret? Is it to prevent voters from cheating off of one another?" These and other conversations helped participants better appreciate the importance of voting. She Votes also creates excitement around elections--with girls running through the door on Election Day and applauding for one another as they drop their ballots into the box.

While Girls Inc. focuses on direct service, they also appreciate the need for broader action through advocacy. Girls Inc. recognizes that public policy affects girls' everyday lives and opportunities, and that they can inform those policies. Although encouraging civic participation is not the focus of their work, programs like She Votes empower girls to speak for themselves and show that voter engagement can complement any public service mission.

Every election is a teachable moment, particularly because Girls Inc. wants girls to become active and engaged citizens and leaders. Their She Votes initiative shows that it's never too early to prepare future voters or inspire future candidates!

The Benefits of Election Day Registration

With Connecticut joining the ranks of Election Day (or Same Day) Registration states, let's review how expanded registration opportunities make it possible for more people to participate. In 2010 Same Day Registration allowed almost 640,000 Americans to register and vote in the November 2, 2010 election. Moreover, states that allow for Same Day Registration consistently lead the nation in voter turnout.

A Demos factsheet highlights stats from the 2010 midterm elections and notes that average turnout in the nine states (and D.C.) with Same Day Registration was nearly 6 percentage points higher than in states without it.

2010 was the first time the District of Columbia used Same Day Registration after enacting it in 2009, while in Idaho Election Day registrants accounted for nearly 10% of ballots cast.

More than 23,000 New Hampshire residents registered and voted on Election Day in 2010, while almost 9,000 Wyoming residents used Same Day Registration to participate.

Maine and Minnesota both employ Election Day Registration and led the nation in voter turnout in the 2010 midterm with rates 15 percentage points higher than the national average. Turnout in Wisconsin and Iowa, who both have Same Day Registration, was 10 percentage points higher than the national average.

Nearly 10,000 Montana citizens registered and voted during the state's "late registration" period, which runs from the close of the regular registration period up to and including Election Day. In North Carolina turnout in the 2010 midterm was 8 percentage points higher than in the 2006 midterm. Nearly 40,000 voters used Same Day Registration to update their voter registration records and vote, along with an additional 21,000 new registrants.

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Recent Trends in Youth Civic Engagement

A new CIRCLE study, "Understanding a Diverse Generation: Youth Civic Engagement in the United States," provides an in-depth analysis of recent youth civic engagement trends. The findings challenge many common myths about the ways in which young people (ages 18-29) are involved in our political system.

The study found that at least three quarters of youth were somehow engaged in their community or in politics in both 2008 and 2010--but in very different ways. Six distinct patterns of engagement emerged in 2010:

• The Broadly Engaged (21% of youth) fill many different leadership roles.
• The Political Specialists (18%) are focused on voting and other forms of political activism.
• The Donors (11%) give money but do little else.
• The Under-Mobilized (14%) were registered to vote in 2010 but did not actually vote or participate actively.
• The Talkers (13%) report discussing political issues and are avid communicators online, but do not take action otherwise.
• The Civically Alienated (23%) hardly engage at all.

See a visual representation of these numbers.

Although this data contradicts the bleak and homogenous picture often painted by the media, it is still clear that many young people are not fully engaged. Other research suggests that some of them could be persuaded to vote if they were directly asked to participate or if voting seemed more accessible--something nonprofits can address. Learn more about nonprofit voter engagement and how your organization can increase participation rates in your community.

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New Report on Turnout Gaps in 2010 Midterm

We're pleased to announce that our new voter turnout report, Voter Participation Gaps in the 2010 Midterm Election, is now available! It is the latest in our America Goes to the Polls series, and is based on the newly released biennial Census survey on voting and registration. The report tracks, analyzes, and explains income, age, education, and disability voting gaps. Prominent turnout gaps include:

• Age - 24% of youth (ages 18-29) turned out in 2010, a sharp drop from 51.1% in 2008.
• Household Income - There was a 20 point turnout gap between members of lower income and higher income households.
• Educational Attainment - Only 35% of those with a high school diploma or less turned out in 2010, compared to 61% of those with a college degree or more.
• Mobility - There was a 34 point turnout gap between individuals who had resided in their home for less than a year (28%) and those who had resided in their home for at least 5 years (62%).
• Disability - The survey included data on voters with disabilities and found that turnout among individuals with hearing difficulty actually exceeded turnout for those with no disability by 4 points.

Download the report to learn more about voting gaps. Then visit the Resources section of our website to see how your nonprofit can help close them.

New Census Data on 2010 Election

The Census Bureau has released data on "Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2010" that compares voting and registration patterns by demographic, social, and geographic characteristics. This release is the latest in a series of national reports that is one of the most frequently cited sources for registration and turnout data.

Last year, Hispanics comprised 7% of voters, the highest percentage ever for a non-presidential election. The percentage of non-Hispanic white voters was 77.5%, down from 80.4% in 2006. Tiffany Julian of the Census Bureau's Education and Social Stratification Branch noted that "The electorate looks much different than when we first started collecting these data 37 years ago," yet turnout and registration rates still do not mirror the nation's growing diversity.

There are persistent voting gaps for many of the populations that nonprofits serve. In addition to racial and ethnic gaps, economic gaps remain stark: People in families who earned $100,000 or more were more than twice as likely to vote as those who lived with families earning less than $20,000. Homeowners were more likely to both register and vote than renters.

Based on this data, Nonprofit VOTE will be issuing a report next month that details registration and turnout gaps, along with other relevant information for the nonprofit community. In the meantime, check out the full data files from the Census Bureau.

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Nonprofits Helped Make the 2010 Census Possible

We've had a lot to say about the Census recently, and before we dial it back there's one more thing Nonprofit VOTE has to get off its chest--thank you! We want to recognize nonprofits in all 50 states who worked on the Census and our Nonprofits Count! 2010 campaign.

You made an incredible difference by reaching hard-to-count populations. All manner of nonprofits leveraged their reach and trust to encourage Census response, and many served as official Questionnaire Assistance Centers and Be Counted sites.

Over 24,350 local nonprofits used Nonprofit VOTE resources to promote the Census in their communities. Our Nonprofits Count! 2010 campaign trained over 2,300 local nonprofits on how to promote Census participation, distributed more than 6,300 toolkits, and provided resources to Census outreach programs in 18 states and through 25 national nonprofit partners' networks. Together, we helped ensure that our clients and communities were counted!

So give yourself a pat on the back and relax for, oh let's say, eight or nine years. After all, we want to make sure you're well rested and able to do it again in 2020! And if you're looking for a project to tide you over, try your hand at nonpartisan voter engagement!

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America Goes to the Polls 2010 - Voter Turnout Report

Nonprofit VOTE is pleased to present the latest installment in our series of voter turnout reports:

America Goes to the Polls 2010: A Report on Voter Turnout in the 2010 Election
Beyond the official state-by-state turnout rankings, this report details key voting trends such as the wide gap in youth turnout, the rise in early voting, and the continued growth of the Latino electorate. It also includes ideas for streamlining and improving voter registration practices.

In 2010, voter turnout dropped off steeply from the 2008 presidential election but was slightly higher than in 2006. Other key points:

• 42 million fewer voters cast ballots in the 2010 midterm than in the 2008 presidential election.
• Maine overtook Minnesota as the number one state in voter turnout--Minnesota had been first in turnout in the last seven national elections--while Texas finished last.
• Voter turnout was ten points higher in the nine states with Election Day Registration. Two of the newest states to adopt Election Day Registration are Iowa (2008) and Montana (2006).
• Early voting by mail and in-person continues to rise. An estimated 27-29% of voters cast ballots early in 2010, well above the 19% who voted early in 2006.
  

Want to know more? Download a copy of America Goes to the Polls 2010 and visit our voter turnout section to learn more.

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Connecting to Elections and Campaigns

How do you like to read the news? Connect with friends? Engage campaigns? If you answered the internet, you’re not alone. Pew found that more than half of all American adults (54%) were "online political users" in 2010.

These people looked online for news about politics and campaigns, watched videos, shared election content, and used social networking sites for political purposes. In contrast, only 31% of adults used the internet for campaign-related purposes in 2006.

Unsurprisingly, for many internet users and young people, the internet was a more popular resource than newspapers, and was second only to television.

It's not just the internet—cell phones also played a large role in last year's midterm. According to a survey by the Pew Research Center, 26% of adults surveyed said they had used their mobile phones for political activities around the 2010 election. These people used their phones to tell others that they had voted, to read election news, to send text messages, and to spread the word about the conditions at various polling sites. Young people (ages 18-29) and digitally connected people were most likely to use their mobile phones for political purposes.

Unfortunately, only 22% of online political users who voted said that they were encouraged to vote by material they found online during the 2010 campaign. We can do better than that. Start by making sure that your nonprofit uses its online presence to encourage voting and provide helpful election information. With small, simple steps nonprofits can do their part to ensure that all internet users are encouraged to vote. Visit Nonprofit VOTE for tips and ideas.

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Nonprofit Election Survey Results

Nonprofit VOTE would like to thank the hundreds of local nonprofits and service providers that responded to our online survey about their 2010 voter engagement activities. The survey examined how nonprofit staff and stakeholders approached voter engagement work, which activities were most common, which materials were used most frequently, their value to the nonprofit, and more. Here is some of what we found:

• In the past, nonprofits have frequently equated voter engagement with voter registration. However, equal numbers of survey respondents reported carrying out voter registration, voter education, and get-out-the-vote activities. This is an encouraging sign and demonstrates that many nonprofits have embraced a broader approach to voter engagement work.
• Almost a quarter of respondents either sponsored or co-sponsored a candidate forum!
  
• Beyond voter engagement activities, many nonprofits undertook measures to support and improve our democracy--nearly half of respondents encouraged staff and others to volunteer as poll workers, while nearly a quarter distributed information on election reform.
• Nonprofits continue to utilize Nonprofit VOTE’s website and complimentary materials, with posters and fact sheets being the most popular.
  

Now for the best news--almost all of the survey's respondents reported that they are already planning to promote voter participation in 2012! Are you?

Download the full report to learn more about nonprofit voter engagement in 2010.

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2010 State Turnout Rankings

State turnout rankings are here! The 2010 rankings are based on the total ballots cast by the voting eligible population from data compiled by the U.S. Elections Project. Without further ado:

The Top Five
1. Minnesota – 55.9%
2. Maine – 55.5%
3. Washington – 54.3%
4. South Dakota – 53.9%
5. Oregon – 53.5%

The Bottom Five
46. Arkansas – 37.5%
47. New York – 35.6%
48. Utah – 35.4%
49. Tennessee – 35.0%
50. Texas – 32.9%

Things to Consider:

• Minnesota had the highest turnout for the third straight midterm, although its lead has diminished.
• The 11 states with Election Day registration or same-day registration (such as Wisconsin, Maine, and Iowa) on average boast higher turnout rates.
• Oregon and Washington—who deliver ballots to all registered voters and allow them to be mailed or returned at drop off locations—are both in the top five.
• Two of the nation's largest states—Texas and New York—continue to rank low in turnout percent. Will this change as Texas adds four new Congressional districts?
• Turnout in California (45%), the other largest state, grew, maintaining a trend in the last several elections.

Wonder where your state ranks? See the full list.

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Nonprofit VOTE in 2010

A lot happened this year, and we want to thank you for the work you did on both the Census and the election.

2010 was a busy year for Nonprofit VOTE, and an opportunity to connect with many new nonprofit partners in all 50 states. We kicked off the year with our Nonprofits Count! Census campaign, inspiring nonprofits to take the lead in reaching out to their communities' hard to count populations. Over 20,000 local nonprofits signed up for our webinars, used our Census toolkits, ordered our "Be Counted" posters, downloaded our bi-lingual fact sheets, and organized their communities around Census response. Others became official Census Questionnaire Assistance Centers or Be Counted sites.

An even greater number of local nonprofits participated in voter engagement activities ahead of the midterm election. Nonprofit VOTE delivered more than 33,000 voter participation toolkits, posters and other resources to local nonprofits in collaboration with our state and national partners. This year, more than 2,500 local and national nonprofits joined or downloaded our webinars. Nonprofit VOTE also conducted in person trainings in dozens of states including California, Arizona, Colorado, Ohio, Louisiana, North Carolina and more.

Our 2010 report will highlight the innovative ways local health centers, neighborhood groups, and human service agencies integrated voter engagement into their ongoing services. This year, voting rates equaled or exceeded 2006 turnout in most of our benchmark counties. Nevertheless, it is clear we must expand our efforts to close persistent participation gaps among the younger and lower income populations served by nonprofits, particularly in midterm years.

In the coming weeks we'll be looking at ways that nonprofits can further impact the fields of voter and civic engagement. Our popular webinar series will return next year, with updates on the Census, redistricting, election reform, and more. We're looking forward to 2011, and are already planning for 2012!

Lastly, many thanks to our partners for their amazing work this year, we couldn't have done it without them!

Protecting Arizona's Family Coalition * California Participation Project * Colorado Nonprofit Association * Colorado Civic Participation Project * Connecticut Association of Nonprofits * Louisiana Association of Nonprofit Organizations * Maine Association of Nonprofits * MassVOTE * Providers' Council of Massachusetts * Michigan Nonprofit Association * Minnesota Council of Nonprofits * Mississippi Center for Nonprofits * Montana Nonprofit Association * Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington (DC) * North Carolina Center for Nonprofits * New Hampshire Center for Nonprofits * New Mexico Center for Nonprofit Excellence * New York Council of Nonprofits * Coalition on Housing and Homelessness of Ohio * United Way of Greater Cleveland * Nonprofit Association of Oregon * Greater Pittsburgh Nonprofit Partnership * Wisconsin Nonprofits * Alliance for Children and Families * American Association of People with Disabilities Vote Project * Girls, Inc. * Independent Sector * Lutheran Services in America * NAACP * NALEO Education Fund * National Association of Secretaries of State * National Association of Community Health Clinics * National Congress of American Indians * National Council of La Raza * National Council of Nonprofits * National Low Income Housing Coalition * United Negro College Fund * VolunteerMatch * Center for Nonprofits and Philanthropy at the Urban Institute * CIRCLE * Voto Latino

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