Bring Democracy to the Thanksgiving Table: 5 Essentials Every Parent Needs to Know About Helping Their Teen Get Ready to Vote
This Thanksgiving, I hope you are gathering with loved ones in a spirit of gratitude—for our families, our communities, and the ideals that bind us together. But this year, the backdrop to our celebration is more fragile: a rising tide of authoritarianism, deliberate efforts to sow division, and a growing mistrust in the basic institutions of democracy.
For too many young people, the value of democracy feels distant, confusing, or out of reach. We see it in the numbers. In midterm years, 60% of 18-year-olds go on to college after graduating high school, but only 30% register to vote. In other words, half of those who go on to college are not getting ready for basic participation in democracy. It’s not because young people aren’t interested in the world around them or can’t do hard things. It’s that our systems and traditions are leaving them out.
As parents and caregivers, we have a profound opportunity—and responsibility—to help our teens understand and access the tools of civic life. And Thanksgiving dinner is a great way to share the details and help young people envision a stronger democracy, and their own role in it in 2026 and beyond.
Here are five things every parent should know—and act on—to ensure the next generation is ready not just to inherit democracy, but to sustain and strengthen it.
1. About 12 million people were born in 2007-2009, and nearly 9 million of them are old enough to register to vote right now.
• If your child was born from 2007-2009, chances are they are old enough to register to vote right now. That’s right.
• More than 50% of teens live in states where they can preregister starting at least by age 16. That’s about 2 million teens who were born in 2009.
• For those born in 2008, about 70% of them are old enough to register now under their state laws. That’s another 2.8 million.
• As to those born in 2007, virtually all of them are already 18 or will be by the end of the year, and they are old enough to register, as well adding another 4 million to the mix.
2. Registered youth turn out at high rates.
If they register, and it’s a big election like a presidential election or competitive midterm, they are more than likely to turn out. According to Census Bureau statistics, In every presidential election going back to 2004, more than 75% of registered youth turned out. In 2022 in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, 70% or more of registered youth turned out.
3. The systems in place today aren’t reaching the youngest voters.
Many people believe that young people will automatically get registered at the DMV or that they can easily register online, but that is not what is happening. Many young people aren’t getting driver’s licenses at all, and many state systems are poorly designed to ensure that all those eligible will register even when they do. In addition, most state online voter registration systems require a driver’s license in order to complete a registration online. So these systems are not designed to compensate for the shortfall at the DMV.
4. Students can develop great leadership skills and help their whole school community by learning how to run a nonpartisan voter registration drive in their high school.
Since almost everyone is old enough to register to vote when they are still in high school, students themselves can play a leading role in persuading their peers why voting matters and helping one another through the registration process. The Civics Center offers free training and resources for those who want to take part. It’s one of the best opportunities out there for teens to demonstrate leadership and an orientation toward service. Colleges and employers love that, and it’s good for its own sake, building confidence and community.
Here’s what it looks like:
5. Parents can make a difference
It makes a big difference if you ask your teens to register and help them through the process. They may need to know the last four digits of their social security number, or they may not know what county they live in. They may not have easy access to a printer or stamps. You can help with all of that, just as you help them navigate other bureaucratic systems. Don’t worry if they don’t say yes the first time you ask. No one may have told them that if they are not in the voter file, candidates and campaigns think they don’t care and pollsters ignore them because they only talk to those who are registered. You can break through with all of that.
You can also print out and keep a few forms in a drawer or in your bag, and have them at the ready at key moments, like before dessert or before handing over the keys to the car. And try this on for size: Be home by midnight. Don’t drink and drive. And make sure you and your friends are all registered to vote.
If you don’t care enough to ask them, who will?
Talk to the young people or parents in your life to encourage high school students to register to vote and get trained to hold a voter registration drive in their school.
Talk to leaders of state, local and national nonprofits that serve students and educators, and encourage them to partner with us.
Subscribe to our Substack here and follow us on Instagram and Facebook, and the next time you are postcarding or fretting anxious about democracy, share our work with your network and encourage them to get involved.
Donate to support the work so we can bring the opportunity everywhere and solve the problem of low youth registration and turnout once and for all.