As I've long argued, youth turnout is about access, not apathy. In 2004, over 80% of registered youth cast a ballot on election day, commensurate with the rest of the registered electorate.
Today, CIRCLE released a fact sheet that adds more grist to that mill by illustrating the impact of election laws and polling accessibility (pdf) on youth turnout at the polls.
CIRCLE found that simple measures like Vote by Mail and Election Day Registration could drastically improve young voter turnout in both Midterm and Presidential elections:
Furthermore, simple measures to educate citizens about their polling place location, and provide sample ballots can further increase participation among young voters.
It's amazing what can happen when states actually work with citizens to make the voting process more navigable.
The report also contains state-by-state information on the availability of election day registration, vote by mail, extended voting hours, unrestricted absentee voting, sample ballot mailings and more.