Youth Voter Turnout Varied Widely Across the Midwest, But Was Highest In Competitive Battleground States
| State | 2020 Voter Turnout (ages 18-29) | 2016 Voter Turnout (ages 18-29) | Change in Youth Voter Turnout 2016-2020 | Vote by Mail Policy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | +8 | Voters had to request ballots | ||
| Iowa | +5 | Sent ballot applications | ||
| Michigan | +12 | Sent ballot applications | ||
| Nebraska | +9 | Sent ballot applications | ||
| Ohio | +5 | Sent ballot applications | ||
| Missouri | +4 | Voters had to request ballots | ||
| Illinois | +4 | Sent ballot applications | ||
| Kansas | +14 | Voters had to request ballots | ||
| Indiana | +7 | COVID-19 not a valid absentee reason | ||
| South Dakota | +1 | Voters had to request ballots |
Notes: "Sent ballot applications" means the state automatically sent an application to request a mail-in ballot to every registered voter. "Voters had to request ballots" means that registered voters had to request a mail-in ballot—as opposed to other states which automatically mailed ballots or ballot applications to registered voters. "COVID-19 not a valid absentee reason" means that voters could not use the pandemic as a reason to request a mail-in ballot.
Source: Voter turnout data from CIRCLE analysis of 2020 Catalist voter files and population estimates from the Census 2019 American Community Survey. Vote by mail information from the National Conference of State Legislatures.
