Unpacking California Voter Registration and Turnout Trends: The Youth Impact on California’s Electorate
- https://uccs.ucdavis.edu/events/2013-January-24-FoxRomero
- Unpacking California Voter Registration and Turnout Trends: The Youth Impact on California’s Electorate
- 2013-01-24T12:00:00-08:00
- 2013-01-24T13:30:00-08:00
- Jonathan Fox, Ph.D., UC Santa Cruz and Mindy Romero, California Civic Engagement Project
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California's November 2012 turnout as a share of eligible voters was 55.5%, down 3.7 percent from 59.2% in 2008. This presentation will analyze the voter registration and turnout trends for the state of California and its counties. Variation will be mapped to identify disparities in representation across the state, with a focus on young adult voting patterns. Where did youth have the biggest impact on California's electorate in 2012? Where do they have the least representation? Institutional factors affecting voter participation will be examined, including recent online registration and the possible role of high schools. While their share of the state's electorate increased over the last decade, young adult citizens remain significantly under-represented in the California political landscape. These trends suggests the need for new conceptual tools and change strategies to bring us closer to a system of "one person, one vote."
Jonathan Fox is professor and chair in the Latin American and Latino Studies Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he has taught since 1996. He received his PhD in Political Science from MIT in 1986. He studies civic and political participation, transparency and accountability, both in Mexico and in California, including a focus on Latino immigrant civic participation. He is currently completing a participatory action-research project on civic engagement patterns among indigenous Oaxacan young adults in the Central Valley, with support from the UC Center for Collaborative Research for an Equitable California.
Mindy Romero is the Project Director for the California Civic Engagement Project (CCEP), a statewide resource for civic engagement and voter data, housed at the UC Davis Center for Regional Change. She is also a member of the research team on Healthy Youth/Healthy Regions, an innovative two-year initiative also conducted by the UC Davis Center for Regional Change, examining youth well-being in the Sacramento Capital region. Romero’s individual research specializes in the intersection of political behavior and race/ethnicity, with an emphasis on conducting research that has on-the-ground relevancy for communities and the lives of residents. For more information about the California Civic Engagement Project, visit http://regionalchange.ucdavis.edu/projects/california-civic-engagement-project-ccep, call 530-665-3010 or e-mail msromero@ucdavis.edu.