Dismantling the myth of voter apathy this Election Day

There’s a persistent and dangerous myth in American politics: people are apathetic and require motivation to vote.

This condescending misconception tends to rear its ugly head every election year, and 2024’s proving no different. Garden-variety ads oversaturating our devices to remind us what’s at stake typically share the same underlying calculation: If we can just convince people to vote, they’ll rush to the ballot box.

In reality, most people are already convinced. Thanks to the pre-Internet-era “motor voter” bill of 1993 — which made it simple for eligible voters applying for a driver’s license to register to vote at the same time — in addition to well-executed voter registration programs, 80 percent of voting-age Americans are already registered.

So Americans may be turned off and disillusioned by the state of politics, but they care about the issues and are actively engaged in electoral outcomes. Surveys conducted this cycle support this idea. Pew found that the majority of both Trump and Harris supporters say they’ve “thought a lot” about the candidates and that the outcome of the race “really matters.

But although many are already registered and invested, that doesn’t mean they’re actually turning out to vote.

In the last three U.S. presidential elections, more than half of non-voters were registered. In 2020 alone, 48 million people who were registered didn’t vote. This isn’t about apathy — it’s about obstacles. For most, not voting is less about a lack of interest and more about navigating a labyrinthine process designed to shut them out.

The truth is, people don’t vote because voting is hard.

If voting has never felt difficult for you, this concept may seem unfamiliar or puzzling. Perhaps you live someplace like California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Hawaii, Utah or another state that’s made it easier to cast a ballot. Maybe you’re employed by a company that gives you Election Day off or provides other flexible arrangements and accommodations. You might have a car or other access to affordable transportation. You may have reliable childcare — or no children at all.

Whatever your circumstance, if voting feels easy for you, consider yourself lucky — and an exception to the rule.

Voting in the U.S. is a burdensome and complex process riddled with systemic barriers and rampant misinformation. It’s considered by experts to be more challenging to vote here than in any other country with democratically elected leadership. We have 51 unique sets of rules around voting across states and D.C. From Election Day falling on a workday to long lines at polling stations, to confusing and overly restrictive voter ID laws, these challenges disproportionately affect minorities and lower-income Americans who move frequently.

These barriers amount to a form of voter suppression, often directly preventing people from casting ballots. Voting in the United States can be unnecessarily difficult to the point that it almost feels intentional — because, in many cases, it is.

When it comes to designing voting processes, our elected representatives aren’t always motivated to make things more democratic — and dark political motivations are sometimes at play. Fueled by false claims of a rigged election, there was a marked increase in state bills restricting voting access and allowing partisan interference in election administration after President Biden’s victory. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, more than 440 bills with provisions that restrict voting were introduced in 2021, and since January 2021, 78 restrictive voting laws have been enacted. Setting aside rising concern about civic engagement being used as a political pawn, the average voter can hardly be expected to keep up with this constant stream of updates.

American voters aren’t even connected to the most fundamental information about voting. One 2016 survey showed that 37 percent of Americans couldn’t identify when Election Day was — and ultimately, 41 percent did not vote. These facts are related: One of the best predictors of whether or not someone votes is whether they know the date of the election. Not knowing when Election Day is isn’t a sign of apathy; it’s a glaring indicator of a systemic failure to disseminate vital information, particularly in marginalized communities. The lack of clarity is a key reason why 48 million registered Americans sit out of elections.

People don’t need to be convinced to vote. They simply need to be able to vote.

Once we let go of the myth that voters are apathetic — by reminding ourselves that most people have already demonstrated that they want to vote but face real barriers to doing so — we can reorient ourselves around meaningful, impactful solutions that enable voting. The answer, then, shifts from a national emphasis on registration and persuasion to a nuanced, layered approach — with solutions that are proven to increase turnout at the forefront.

Structural reforms like universal vote-by-mail and permanent absentee voting are a critical piece of the puzzle. Vote-by-mail allows registered voters to cast ballots ahead of Election Day, and permanent absentee voting allows a voter to sign up to receive mail ballots for all future elections, making voting easier and more convenient. Our team at VoteAmerica has conducted extensive analyses of permanent absentee voting, and we’ve found that it boosts turnout significantly, with an average turnout lift of up to 13.5 percentage points. These reforms reduce barriers by bringing the ballot directly to the voter.

However, this kind of legislation takes time to be written into law and implemented.

In the lead-up to Nov. 5, efforts that help registered voters get to the polls are key to increasing turnout. When executed correctly, these get-out-the-vote programs equip citizens with the essential information they need to cast their ballots successfully. We’ve found that when you provide practical information in an accessible manner, at scale, turnout increases. It’s a concept so simple that it sounds too good to be true — but I know it works from cycle after cycle of firsthand experience.

Every election year at VoteAmerica, we run large-scale mobilization programs displaying basic voting information on college campuses and billboards nationwide — amplifying messages across multiple channels and reaching millions of otherwise hard-to-reach voters directly. And over the last seven years, we’ve seen a boost of up to an 8 percentage points in turnout among college students on campuses where we’ve run our GOTV programs across school channels.

In competitive states where we’ve purchased billboard inventory, we’ve consistently observed increased voter turnout. In 2024, we’re spending over $7 million to place 800 billboards across 10 competitive states with early voting information and a clear reminder of the date of the election: Nov. 5, 2024. VoteAmerica’s billboards are so effective, they’ve been confused for government-issued public service announcements.

Our data-informed tactics are clear, simple and easy-to-digest. We deploy them because we know they work. But beyond just working, they’re inexpensive and scalable, especially relative to other mobilization tactics, because they scale with product and inventory, not human labor. A well-executed get-out-the-vote program can be as economical as it is effective. Simple, effective messaging makes a world of difference.

We’re facing a lot of difficult problems as a country, none of which can’t be solved by a functioning democracy. As we confront a political landscape rife with partisan misinformation and voter suppression efforts, it’s essential that we collectively move beyond the dangerous, outdated myth of voter apathy. Instead, we must prioritize empowering voters — who are already fired up and ready to go — through clear, accessible programs that dismantle the barriers they face to casting ballots.

If we’re able to help the millions of registered voters navigate these challenges, we have the potential to boost voter turnout by 15 percentage points and start working toward a truly representative electorate. The time for action is now — the stakes have never been higher, because our democratic future depends on it.

Debra Cleaver is CEO of VoteAmerica.