The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) recently raised the interesting question of whether civic education laws affected youth voter turnout in the 2012 election. To explore the answer, CIRCLE “compared youth turnout (for citizens between the ages of 18 and 29) in three groups of states[...]. The first group had strengthened their requirements for high school civics or American government courses or statewide tests in civics. The second group already had some requirements in place and did not change them between 2004 and 2012. The third group weakened their course or testing requirements between 2004 and 2012.”

Writing before the election at NonprofitCommunity.com, Carolyn J. Lukensmeyer, executive director of the National Institute for Civil Discourse and author of the forthcoming book Bringing Citizen Voices to the Table, makes the case for more direct citizen involvement in governing decisions. Worried that part of the cause of our current political dysfunction is a hyper-partisan form of politics, Lukensmeyer believes that citizens themselves can—and should—come together and “make the important decisions that need to be made.”

We’ll leave the real post election analysis to the experts, but do want to point out just how incredible the act of voting is. Writing yesterday morning in The American after waiting in line in the cold to vote, AEI’s Michael R. Strain poses the excellent question: “What in the history of mankind would make you think that such a thing was possible?”

Today, as voters across the country stand in long lines to perform their civic duty and cast their votes, it seems appropriate to remind ourselves of why voting should be so important to Americans. In 1865, Frederick Douglass addressed the annual meeting of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society in Boston and provided a robust defense of black Americans’ desire to vote. His words are worth reading again today.

Here are some recent happenings in the citizenship world:

• A new CIRCLE study reveals that knowledge about voter laws is still lacking among young Americans
• From the Education Gadfly: “U.S. Civics education is lacking…but at least we’re not France.”
•  Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor writes in the San Francisco Chronicle that it’s “time to restore civic learning”

In the Huffington Post, Alex Wirth, part of the Harvard Public Opinion Project, discusses the results of a new poll by the Project that finds that youth voter (defined as voters ages 18-29) turnout this November could be the lowest on record.

Fourth grade students at Harlem Prep, part of  Democracy Prep Public Schools (one of the charter school networks profiled in Strengthening the Civic Mission of Charter Schools), have created a catchy song, sung to the tune of Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call me Maybe,” encouraging eligible voters to get out and vote this November 6. Check it out.

We’ve not had a roundup of news bits from the citizenship world in a while, so here are some recent items that we found interesting:

• According to the Pew Research Center, youth engagement with politics is down, compared to this time in the 2008 presidential election cycle.
• The good news, though, is in the “Power of the Ask”.
• In September, the Library of Congress unveiled the new Congress.gov, to replace the old THOMAS database.
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We’ve covered before some recent arguments for and against the idea of making voting in some way mandatory for American citizens. Joining the debate now is Eric Liu, author of The Gardens of Democracy, who wrote earlier this week in his Time Ideas column in favor of mandatory voting.

Writing last week for The Huffington Post, Jason Dempsey, a career infantry officer in the U.S. Army and author of Our Army: Soldiers, Politics, and American Civil-Military Relations, takes a look at just what constitutes the “veteran vote”–and whether there really is such a thing.

Some recent news happenings in the world of citizenship:

Writing last week in Bloomberg, Peter Orszag, a former director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Obama administration, argues that voting should be made mandatory. Using Australia as an example of a country where compulsory voting already exists, Orszag notes: “Mandating voting has a clear effect: It raises participation rates.” The United States currently has voter participation below 60 percent.

William E. White writes in the Huffington Post that “Americans have forgotten the reason why we educate children in America. As a result our children, schools, communities, and the nation are suffering. [...] We have forgotten that there is only one purpose for an education system in a republic: to educate citizens.”

Do you know why we vote on Tuesday?

What’s happening in the citizenship world? Here’s a mid-week roundup of recent tidbits we found interesting:

• In Politico, Ethan Porter and David Kendall propose “iGov”.
• The American Democracy Project spotlights the “Campus Vote Project.”
• If you’ll be in the greater D.C. area in mid-March, the Center for the Constitution at James Madison’s Montpelier is hosting an event you may want to check out: “Founding Conversations: James Madison and Nelson Mandela: Constitutional Lessons for a World in Transition.”
• The Pew Research Center has a new report focusing on social networking sites and politics.

Today–the Tuesday after the first Monday of November–is election day! As we discussed in yesterday’s “Making voting mandatory?” post, voting is a civic responsibility for all citizens, and so we encourage you to go out and vote today.

The Washington Post and Politico each have good round-ups of the major votes happening across the country, but you should check with your local election board to see what people in your area will be voting on today.

If you’ll be voting around the D.C. area, here is some general information that may be helpful:

• Virginia’s Voter Information
• Maryland’s Voter Information
• Washington D.C.’s Voter Information

Over the weekend, William Galston of the Brookings Institution penned a conversation-starting op-ed in the New York Times.

The gist of the thought experiment is this: What would happen if we in the United States made voting mandatory–like jury duty? Australia, along with 30 other countries, has mandatory voting laws, and this has caused voting turnout-rates to stabilize at around 95 percent.

Galston offers three reasons for enacting such a law: 1) It would create stronger citizens, who recognize that citizenship comes with both rights and duties; 2) it would provide representation for those citizens who currently vote at disproportionate levels, such as those with lower incomes and education levels; and 3) it would work to negate the increasing polarization of politics by catering to the middle:

Imagine our politics with laws and civic norms that yield near-universal voting. Campaigns could devote far less money to costly, labor-intensive get-out-the-vote efforts. Media gurus wouldn’t have the same incentive to drive down turnout with negative advertising. Candidates would know that they must do more than mobilize their bases with red-meat rhetoric on hot-button issues. Such a system would improve not only electoral politics but also the legislative process. Rather than focusing on symbolic gestures whose major purpose is to agitate partisans, Congress might actually roll up its sleeves and tackle the serious, complex issues it ignores.

[...]

We don’t know what the outcome would be. But one thing is clear: If we do nothing and allow a politics of passion to define the bounds of the electorate, as it has for much of the last four decades, the prospect for a less polarized, more effective political system that enjoys the trust and confidence of the people is not bright.

It’s an interesting and unconventional argument, but one worthy of thought and discussion. How do we increase and strengthen Americans’ civic responsibilities?

John Rolczynski is an involved citizen. Since 1995, the 82-year-old North Dakotan has been trying to make sure his home state is really a state. Though originally admitted into the Union in 1889, as the Valley News explains,

the original state constitution left out the executive branch, the Governor and other high ranking officials when it explains who needs to take the oath of office. Rolczynski says that puts the state constitution in conflict with the federal one, making it invalid.

Fortunately, thanks to Mr. Rolczynski’s efforts, Senator Tim Mathern of Fargo has introduced a bill to bring North Dakota’s constitution in step with the federal one.

Learn more about this citizen’s efforts here.

By Alec Weltzien

The midterm elections have now come and gone.  Although they’ll be counting Senate votes in Alaska for some time, we thought you might want to understand what it all meant.  Here are some useful blogs and postings on the election and its significance.

• Who won and why?
  • What were the campaigns’ political missteps and masterstrokes? Election Watch at the American Enterprise Institute will offer incisive answers to these questions via live video feed from 12 PM to 2PM EST tomorrow, November 4^th.
  • Aside from the ill-fated Charlie Crist, third-party candidates played havoc with Republicans in several elections.  Read James Joyner’s analysis of their disruptive role here.

• Who voted?
  • Some good news: Voter turnout looks to be higher than in the 2006 midterm elections.
  • Exit polls by the Associated Press show how particular issues and opinions drove voters to the Democrats and Republicans.  It also offers an overview of Senate, House, Gubernatorial, and ballot measure votes by state.
  • Why did Independents shift right?  Richard Sieb at the Wall Street Journal explains.
  • Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Wisconsin: These states can make a president. But the Midwest states that voted for Obama in 2008 turned Republican this election.  Find out why at CBS News.
  • By and large, American youth did not participate in the elections.  The Student Free Press Association and CBS News offer reasons why.

• Make your voice heard.
  • At the New York Times, describe your state of mind about the elections in one word. You can even see how American attitudes about the midterms compare with the 2008 presidential election.
  • Is Facebook the new polling place?  Over 11 million people announced on the social networking site that they had done their civic duty.

• What’s next?
  • To the lame duck session and beyond:  What lies ahead for a jointly controlled Congress?  What are potential areas for bipartisan agreement? Donny Shaw at Open Congress offers some answers.
  • Find out what the sharpest pundits are saying about the Democrats’ defeat and the GOP agenda at Real Clear Politics.

Thanks for voting!

Alec Weltzien is an intern with the AEI Program on American Citizenship.

By Alec Weltzien

As Election Day draws near, we here at AEI’s Program on American Citizenship figure you might want to inform yourselves about the candidates and issues of the midterm elections. So if you would like to head into that ballot box prepared, look no further! We’ve put together a list of our top ten websites to help you cast your vote wisely.

1. Vote Easy by VoteSmart.org offers an interactive campaign map and matches your positions with those of the candidates in your state. Check out how close the candidates come to your own opinions.You can also look at their interest group affiliations, campaign finances, and voting records.

2. What happens inside the Capitol? Open Congress gives you quick access to current bills, Representatives, Senators, voting records and more. Connect campaign contributions with specific bills and votes under the “Follow the Money” link. View the mudslinging yourself at the AdTracker project, which has compiled election ads by state.

3. Govluv.org connects you with Senators and Representatives via Twitter. Follow multiple candidates simultaneously, and get your voice heard on their Twitter accounts.

4. One of the hottest debates right now revolves around the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which provided federal stimulus money to state and local projects across the United States. To follow the funds into your neighborhood and rate their effectiveness, check out Stimulus Watch 2.0, which uses data from the government’s Recovery.gov website.

5. AEI’s own Election Watch 2010 gives you access to our top scholars on the current election. Follow recent developments and track polls with our experts, who discuss issues like the disappearance of moderates. In addition, find out why the movement of independents, white Catholics, and people with some college education towards Republican candidates is important.

6. The Perpetually Public Data Project allows users to find and track the websites of Congress members over time. By saving recent website changes, it helps you to know how representatives are positioning themselves in the current race.

7. Election reform is an evergreen issue in American politics. With video interviews and blog posts, Why Tuesday? will get you thinking about how we vote and what improvements should be made. Do you know why Americans vote on Tuesday?

8. OpenRegs.com helps you to sort and make sense out of the thousands of federal regulations that affect you. Inform yourself before the election by browsing current proposals, subscribing to a particular agency or topic, or debating in one of their forums. You can download OpenRegs.com to your iPhone as well–the Federal Register at the touch of a button.

9. Checking out Election Land will land you with easy answers to some of your basic election questions. What’s going to be on my ballot? Where do I go to vote?  Find answers to these questions and ask your own. Or you can simply admire the wallpaper, a collage of campaign buttons from over 30 years of elections.

10. Government spending, taxing, and regulation are among the top issues in this year’s election cycle. WashingtonWatch.com breaks down the numbers behind the bills, giving you the actual cost of current proposals. Track legislation by greatest cost or greatest savings, and follow the pork barrel spending around the United States.

Image from Wikimedia.

Alec Weltzien is an intern with the AEI Program on American Citizenship.