Wisconsin's Young Voter Turnout Led the Nation in Last November's Election

Wednesday, May 10th, 2023 -- 8:00 AM

(By Anya van Wagtendonk, Wisconsin Public Radio) Wisconsin's young voter turnout led the nation in last November’s elections, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

According Anya van Wagtendonk with Wisconsin Public Radio, that data, which is subject to a wide margin of error, shows nearly half of voters aged 18-24 cast a ballot in the contest that reelected Democratic Gov.Tony Evers and sent Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson back to Washington for a third term.

The numbers reflect an upward trend of voter engagement among young people, according to Abby Kiese, the deputy director of Tufts University’s Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, which researches youth civic engagement.

"In some ways, we kind of feel like we're seeing a little bit of a new normal with respect to youth voter turnout over the past three election cycles," Kiese said. Political organizers in Wisconsin say the numbers indicate that young people will participate if given the tools and information to do so.

In a state where many races are decided by razor-thin margins, this population sees its voice as able to make a difference, said Ali Beneker, 19, who chairs the University of Wisconsin-Madison chapter of College Republicans.

"When we have 10 statewide elections in the last 22 years that were decided by less than 30,000 votes, and then you look at the UW-Madison campus, and we have around 50,000 people, that's a huge impact that college students can have on Wisconsin elections," she said. "I think that students are starting to realize the power we have."

Organizing students can be tricky because campus populations, by definition, are in constant flux, said Brianna Koerth, 25, who was the youth organizing director for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin in November.

But Wisconsin’s turnout numbers show the benefit of investing in new voter education, she added. "Students are becoming regular voters, and, in Wisconsin, we've … been lucky to have programs that have invested in getting students to go (vote)," she said. "I think that has shown time and time again that it does matter."

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