What Happened and Where Do We Go next? 2016 election: What Happened and Where Do We Go next? Mindy Romero, Ph.D. Director

What Happened?

A Majority of America? Trump = 62 million Clinton = 64 million + Another 100 million eligible Americans didn’t vote Trump – only about a fourth of eligible voters

U.S. Turnout 58.6% (U.S. Elections Project) – same as 2012 Higher than 2000

California Turnout 14.6 million votes = 58.7% eligible voter turnout = 75.2% registered voter turnout = between 2012 and 2008 rates Sub-groups? = Turnout disparities are entrenched

Blue California? Clinton – 62% Trump - 32%

California Vote: Exit Polls Clinton Trump male 57% 36% female 66% 30%

California Vote: Exit Polls Clinton Trump Johnson Stein white 50% 45% 3% 1% black 88% 9% latino 71% 24% 2% asian 70% 17% 6%

California Vote: Exit Polls Clinton Trump Johnson Stein 18-24 67% 18% 8% 6% 25-29 64% 29% 3% 4% 30-39 70% 23% 40-49 60% 36% 2% 50-64 57% 40% 1% 65 and older 61% 0%

California Vote: Exit Polls Clinton Trump Johnson Stein high school or less 61% 31% 5% 2% some college 56% 39% 3% college graduate 63% 32% postgraduate 67% 27%

Where do we go from here?

Impact of Electoral Reforms

Electoral Reforms Vote-by-Mail Online Voter Registration Same Day Voter Registration (conditional) 16 Yr Old Pre-Registration Automatic Voter Registration Vote Centers

What’s Next?

Future Reforms? Voter Turnout and Representation Civic Engagement Connection Civics/Democratic Norms

Voter Turnout and Representation Make It Easier to Vote Registration Reforms: Same-Day, Automatic Vote Centers Top-Two/Redistricting Design/Information/Corrective Methods California’s role in the national discussion Outreach Make Them Want to Vote Disconnection and Trust Impact Culture of Voting

Civic Engagement Long-game connection Move beyond the election cycle Start now!

Civics/Democratic Norms K-12 civics What/How/Why of Voting Civil dialogue

Thank you! Mindy Romero, Ph.D. Director, California Civic Engagement Project UC Davis msromero@ucdavis.edu @mindysromero View my Tedx Talk on the Power of the Youth Vote!

Vote Center Model Research Voters expressed concerns about the new voter center model Most voters were unwilling to travel more than 5-15 min to use a VC There are disparities in California’s mail ballot rejection rates Targeted and sustained education efforts will be critical to successfully utilize the new election model System should have accountability/outcomes should be tracked Vote Center Model Research

Vote Center Model VBM ballots being sent to all registered voters A minimum of one ballot drop-box location for every 15,000 registered At least 1 VC per 10,000 registered voters, with at least two per jurisdiction 3 days prior, at least one VC (per 50,000 voters) of which must be open 10 days before the election Voting can occur at any open VC in a participating county LA County would not be required to mail every registered voter a Vote-by-Mail ballot and would have lower VC ratio Vote Center Model

Non-Traditional Forms of C.E. Underrepresented communities often have few traditional pathways to engagement How we measure C.E. doesn’t match accessible resources Or the culturally relevant expressions of C.E. We aren’t measuring the full level of C.E. Power pathways are less accessible

Types of Civic Engagement Definition: Any effort by people to improve the quality of life in their communities Typology: Formal political participation Participation in civic/community organizations, clubs, boards Everyday civic engagement