New Restrictions on Voter Registration Are Likely to Harm Young Voters

CIRCLE research has consistently found that young people face structural and logistical barriers to electoral participation and that policies that make it easier to register and vote tend to increase youth voter turnout. In our most recent analysis of young people’s voter participation in 2024, we found that youth turnout was 49% on average in states that make it easiest to participate through policies like automatic, same-day, and online voter registration. By contrast, in states that make it hardest to register and vote because they do not have such policies in place and/or have voter ID requirements, youth turnout was 44% on average.

The landscape of voting policies is constantly changing, with new laws passed and policies implemented at the state level during every election cycle. Attempts to change voting policies at the federal level, like the SAVE Act which passed the House of Representatives in April 2025, have the potential to drastically alter the voter registration landscape across the country. Similar legislation at the state level may also present major challenges to engaging young voters.

Our research—along with insights from other scholars and practitioners—suggests that by eliminating facilitative election policies and practices, and by introducing major new requirements like proof of citizenship, such legislation could have a substantial adverse effect on young people’s participation in our democracy.

Young People Already Face Barriers to Registration and Voting

The majority of young people who do not register to vote say it is because they face some sort of logistical barrier. In our post-2024 election poll, 48% of voting-eligible youth who weren’t registered said they did not know how to register, ran out of time, missed the deadline, or had trouble with the application process. Data from the 2024 November supplement of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey suggests that these barriers affect youth most of all: potential voters ages 18-29 were more likely than older Americans to say they didn’t register because they missed the deadline or because their work/school schedules prevented them from doing so. These responses are indicative of structural or logistical barriers (e.g., lack of information about deadlines and processes, lack of transportation) that can hinder young voters. (See Held, 2025;  Hill, 2020;  Juelich & Coll, 2020 for further research on the disproportionate costs of voting for youth.)

Any changes or restrictions on voter registration are more likely to affect young people most, because by definition they are new to the electorate and need to register for the first time to participate in elections. Youth are also more likely to have to reregister to vote because they move more often than older adults: according to data from the 2023 American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 26% of young people (ages 18-29) have moved within the past year, compared to only 13% of the overall population. If a law like the SAVE Act results in separate policies and requirements for state and federal elections, that could introduce additional confusion and potential barriers for youth who move to a different state.

Facilitative Election Laws Work—But Are Threatened by the SAVE Act

A key antidote to the difficulties that voter registration can pose for young voters are policies that make voting and registration easier, like automatic voter registration (AVR; Christy et al., 2024), same-day registration (SDR), online voter registration (OVR; Garnett, 2022; Grumbach & Hill, 2021), and pre-registration at age 16. Our research has demonstrated the positive impact of these policies and their potential to expand the electorate—especially among underrepresented voters like youth of color and rural youth. Several of these policies are threatened by the requirements imposed by legislation like the SAVE Act.

The SAVE Act requires that individuals present in-person proof of citizenship to an election official. According to data from the Election Administration and Voting Survey, only 6% of voter registrations (among potential voters of all ages) in 2022 occurred in person at an elections office, which underscores the reliance on other registration processes (including other in-person options, like the DMV) that may be rendered inoperable by the SAVE Act. For example, online and mail voter registration are currently responsible for about a quarter of all voter registrations submitted. Furthermore, previous CIRCLE research found that in 2020, on average counties in states with online voter registration had a 10-point higher youth voter registration rate than those without the policy.

Currently, 55% of registrations happen at motor vehicle agencies. This type of legislation could also complicate or even eliminate automatic voter registration at state agencies like the DMV. Eligible registrants would now be required to either present proof of citizenship at the DMV to an election official, or to make a separate trip to an elections office—which would effectively cancel out the convenience of AVR. In 2020, we found that youth voter registration was 3.5 points higher in states with automatic voter registration, and a recent CIRCLE analysis found that AVR was especially helpful for youth of color—especially rural youth of color.

Online and automatic voter registration are also key policies for electoral engagement in rural areas, which are often civic deserts where access to in-person voter registration offices and opportunities is harder. Several analyses have pointed to the driving distance to elections offices in rural communities as a major potential barrier. Others have also highlighted the potential impact on Native American communities, since tribal IDs would not be considered valid proof of citizenship.

The effect of legislation like the SAVE Act on other policies and practices, like pre-registration at age 16 and same-day registration, is less clear. For example, same-day registration may still be permitted but require voters to present proof of citizenship at the polls on Election Day, which would likely lead to longer lines, voter confusion, and logistical challenges. That could especially be the case at polling sites on college campuses, where reporting suggests young people use SDR at high rates. 

The requirement to present proof of citizenship to an election official would also cripple nonpartisan voter registration efforts and organizations which play a crucial role in the electoral ecosystem registering new voters. These organizations and registration drives are often especially critical for reaching underserved populations like youth of color, who remain underrepresented in the electorate and whose voter turnout could suffer further if organizations are not allowed to reach them.

Disproportionate Impact on Youth of Color and Low-Income Youth

Legislation like the SAVE Act could also have an especially negative impact on underrepresented and historically marginalized youth, who are less likely to have readily available proof of citizenship. For some youth, the cost of procuring these documents can also serve as a barrier at a time when 62% of young people (ages 18-34) who did not vote in 2024 say they sometimes or often have trouble meeting their basic financial needs. 

For most people, the most common proof of citizenship is their passport, but according to an August 2023 survey from YouGov, only about 2 in 5 (43%) of American citizens have a valid and current passport. While the same source suggests that, nationally, young people under age 30 are actually slightly more likely than older Americans to have a passport, there are stark inequities: Black Americans and people without college experience—two of the groups that already have the lowest youth voter turnout rates—are less likely to have a passport. State-level research in places like Texas and Georgia has shown that young people, Latinos, and low-income people in those states who are U.S. citizens are less likely to have proof of that citizenship.

There are also major differences by state that mirror current inequities in youth voter participation. According to data from the State Department and population data from the Census, in seven states, less than a third of citizens have a valid passport: West Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. Four of those states (AR, OK, LA, WV) were among the bottom six in youth voter turnout in the 2024 election. Many of these are also among the most rural states in the country, which further highlights the potential impact on rural voters. The requirement to present proof of citizenship in order to register to vote could further exacerbate some of the deepest inequities in American democracy.

Make Democracy Easier—Not Harder

Many young people, especially youth of color, non-college youth, and other underrepresented groups, already face barriers to electoral participation as newly eligible voters. Facilitative election policies can ease some of that burden, and the research evidence is clear that these policies work. The data is also clear about what happens in places where registration and voting is harder: on average, youth participation is lower.

The health and strength of American democracy depends on the robust and equal participation of all citizens. Many young people already feel like democracy has left them behind, isn’t working for them, or doesn’t value their participation. Policy changes that have the potential to hinder their engagement could further weaken their commitment to our system of government and political institutions, and be harmful to our shared goal of building an equitable and representative electorate.