Expanding Equity in the Democratic Process

Voter participation overall has been in decline for many years, with fewer than half of all eligible voters casting a ballot in 2022. While the 2018 and 2020 elections represented the highest turnout inmore than a century, and the 2022 midterms only trailed turnout in 2018 slightly, the United States falls far behind other developed nations in voter turnout. External barriers – that is, factors other than a lack of motivation to vote – play a significant role in depressing the turnout rate as well as the number of Americans registered to vote.