Less than half of the number of 18- and 19-year-olds are registered to vote in Indiana this year compared to 2016. That decline is the worst in the nation.
Voter registration among those newly-eligible Hoosier voters is 54 percent less this year than the last presidential election cycle, according to a new analysis from Tufts University.
READ MORE: Can I Vote By Mail? Here's What You Need To Know For Indiana's Elections
League of Women Voters of Indiana Co-President Linda Hanson said COVID-19 has presented challenges that help explain that decline.
“We have normally sent league members into schools to register people … and clearly we’re not going into the schools right now,” Hanson said.
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Voting advocacy group Indiana Citizen co-founder Bill Moreau said his organization is changing its focus ahead of the election because of those low numbers.
“We are going to shift 100 percent of our social media spend to 18- and 19-year-olds,” Moreau said.
Moreau said getting young people into the habit of voting helps them better become lifelong voters.
Contact reporter Brandon at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.
