New Jersey introduced a smart voting reform—then let it lapse
The covid-19 pandemic changed a lot of things. For some states, this included voting. Four states (California, Nevada, New Jersey and Vermont) and the District of Columbia decided to automatically send every voter a mail-in ballot. Five other states (Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah and Washington) already did this before the pandemic. After implementing this temporary change for the 2020 presidential election New Jersey had the highest voter turnout in the country after Washington, DC. Then it did what any reasonable government would do when something goes well. It allowed the provision to expire.
Being citizens of one of the richest and most educated states, New Jerseyans should vote more than they do, says Jake Grumbach, a public-policy professor at the University of California, Berkeley. In the previous presidential election, in 2016, only 62% of eligible voters in the state cast a ballot (about the same as the national average). This changed in 2020. New Jersey topped the league with a 78% turnout (compared with 67% nationally).
The pandemic election also seemed to engage a notoriously nonchalant group: younger voters. According to a study by the National Vote At Home Institute (NVAHI), a non-profit outfit that advocates for expanded voting access, among all the states New Jersey also came top for participation among eligible voters aged 18-34, with a turnout of 64%. In the previous presidential election, less than half of young eligible New Jerseyans cast a ballot.
2023-12-07 09:46:10
Link from www.economist.com
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