Expanding the Electorate: The Effects of Preregistration on Youth Turnout

For decades, scholars have studied electoral behavior of young voters, attributing their low turnout to a myriad of factors, including education level and sociodemographics. This thesis analyzes how a recent electoral reform – preregistration, in which individuals can register to vote before their eighteenth birthday – impacts turnout of young people in North Carolina. Relying on North Carolina voter history and registration data, I run logistic regression models and find that preregistered voters were much more likely to turn out than non-preregistered voters in the 2012-2016 elections. These findings contribute to the existing literature on youth turnout, suggesting that preregistration, in addition to other variables, can positively impact turnout of young voters.Master of Art