2026 Youth Voter Registration Is Rising, but 2.5 Million 18-Year-Olds Remain Unregistered
Midterms are two months away. Voter registration deadlines in some states are just one month away. There is still time to make gains.
“Attention must be paid.”
–Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman
“Attention without feeling is only a report.”
–Mary Oliver, Our World
Summer is winding down. Campaigns are gearing up. And The Civics Center has a new national update on voter registration rates for 18-year-olds.
First the good news: Things are generally heading in the right direction.
Nationally (based on our review of 39 states), the registration rate for 18-year-olds is 43.2%, up 6.7 percentage points compared to the same point in the 2022 midterms.
In 2022, the national rate increased more than 7 percentage points from the same point in the year through Election Day, winding up at 43.9%. If we match that pace now, the voter registration rate for 18-year-olds heading into the midterms will break 50%. That’s far better than the 2022 midterms, but still nowhere close to the rates of older adults, 82% of whom are registered.
Here is what the national trend has looked like since January 2022:
We compare registration rates for 18-year-olds every month since 2022 with the rate for voters 45-79. What we see is low levels of registration for 18-year-olds in general, with accelerating increases starting after primary seasons and heading toward a general presidential election and midterms. Then we see steady declines until the next episodic increase. The baseline rate now is higher than it was in 2022. Except for an eight-month period around the 2024 election, the voter registration rate for 18-year-olds nationally during this period did not break 50%.
At the state level, we now have 4 states, Minnesota, Oregon, Michigan, and Colorado with voter registration rates for 18-year-olds above 70%. In contrast, by the time of the last midterm election in 2022, only two states, Oregon and Colorado had achieved this level.
2026 still has a chance to add additional states to the 70+ club. Maryland (66.4%), Nevada (66.3%), New Mexico (62.0%), and Massachusetts (61.4%) are trailing a bit behind the leaders. But they have a real possibility to catch up and join the 70+ list before Election Day.
With the exception of Nevada and New Mexico, all of the top 10 states allow preregistration beginning at age 16 or earlier (as in the case of Colorado, which allows preregistration at age 15). High-performing states have generally implemented automatic voter registration at the DMV and other public agencies more effectively than states that perform less well, an issue we’ve written about here.
If you like a good horse race, you may notice that since last month, Minnesota has overtaken Oregon for the top spot, and New Mexico has overtaken Massachusetts for number seven.
Now the not-so-good news:
At the other end of the spectrum, we have states with the lowest rates: all below 40%. There are 18 of these as of August: Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Montana, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas.1
2.5 million 18-year-olds nationally remain unregistered.
16 states have populations smaller than this.
We know that states can do better because we’ve just shown that some already have.
The others could do the same if they would only try. But will they?
And if they won’t, will you?
What about competitive states?
CIRCLE at Tufts University publishes a bi-annual Youth Electoral Significance Index. It provides a ranking of the states in which young people, according to CIRCLE’s methodology, are likely to have the greatest electoral significance. We calculated the numbers turning 18 and the registration rates of those youngest voters, as well as the number remaining unregistered for the states on their list for the upcoming midterm elections for Governor or US Senate.
For all 2026 YESI states combined for which data are available, more than 725,000 18-year-olds remain unregistered. The registration rates for 18-year-olds in these states on average far exceeds the registration rate for 18-year-olds nationwide, 52% vs 43%.
What you can do about it all: Make voter registration part of high school life.
Our resources are designed to help high school communities welcome their students to democracy year after year, by getting young people involved as peer leaders and getting adults they trust to help. Here’s how you can make a difference.
Our fall campaign is High School Voter Registration Weeks. We and our partners encourage high schools to pick the week that works for them to promote voter registration through student-led / adult-supported drives. Tell the teens, educators, parents, and community groups you are involved with so they can bring the work to their school.
Show the data. Invite teens to see themselves in the numbers and to ask questions about how they would improve their state’s systems, and what they can do to make change right now. Share the data with your wider network.
Share our resources.
Our interactive map connects to state-by-state resources that guide students through registration and gets them access to information to cast their first ballot. Here’s California, as an example.Tell a teacher.
We know that what matters to educators most is having the resources to support their students’ growth and self-determination. We’ve got a free bundle with new, non-partisan lesson plans that are ready for immediate use and that teachers love. Let the educators in your life know.Build on election momentum.
Students live in a crowded media environment. Awareness about elections increases around election time, so this is a time when reliable and actionable messaging about voter registration can break through and ride the wave.Remember the big picture. Turnout matters to free and fair elections, and turnout starts with registration. You can make a difference.
I hear the phrase free and fair elections a lot. It usually means an election without interference. But it also means – or should mean – massive participation. Elections need to be free and fair for everyone. Everyone should feel that they have a voice and that their vote will be counted. Free and fair elections start with massive turnout, and massive turnout starts with voter registration. That includes young people, all of whom start out as unregistered and all of whom need to overcome the initial registration hurdle before an election can be free and fair for them.Please consider a donation.
If you think we’re doing important work, please consider making a donation to The Civics Center. It is your gifts that mean we can create and distribute these resources, put high school voter registration on the map, and close the youth participation gap once and for all.