Retired Indiana Supreme Court Justice Steven David encouraged civic-engagement advocates during his keynote address at the 2024 Indiana Civics Summit. (Photo/Marilyn Odendahl)
By Marilyn Odendahl
The Indiana Citizen
April 12, 2024
Near the end of the daylong discussion on Thursday in Indianapolis about civic engagement and voter participation, one participant asked how the group could get more young adult Hoosiers to register and vote in November.
Rebecca Gilliland, associate provost and professor of communication at the University of Indianapolis, quipped the better question was how to get 17- to 22-year-olds to do anything. Then, she advised, the key to motivating young adults was to appeal to their values and their beliefs.
“The thing is 17- to 22-year-olds actually want to make an impact,” Gilliland said. “They seriously want to make an impact, but they feel like they can’t and don’t.”
Gilliland was one of several experts who spoke during the 2024 Indiana Civics Summit hosted by the Indiana Bar Foundation. The event included a series of panel discussions and a small-group brainstorming session to foster ideas on supporting civic education in Indiana schools.
Educators, nonprofit leaders, lawyers, judges, consultants, and ordinary citizens from across Indiana were among the attendees. Also, some state universities, nonprofits and advocacy groups were passing out information about their programs and initiatives.
Much of the focus of the summit was voter participation. The first panel highlighted the 2023 Indiana Civic Health Index, which shows Indiana lags behinds most other states in the number of eligible voters going to the polls on Election Day.
Despite a concerted effort launched with the release of the 2019 index to increase voter turnout by 20% in the November 2020 presidential election, Hoosier voters have continued to stay home, rather than cast a ballot. In the 2022 mid-term elections, Indiana ranked 40th in voter registration among all states and 50th in voting with just 42% of the electorate going to the polls, a voter participation rate more than 10 percentage points below the national average of 52.2%.
“The civic health of Indiana is really pretty poor,” Bill Moreau, co-author of the Civic Health Index and co-founder and president of the Indiana Citizen Education Foundation, said during a panel discussion recapping the findings of recent health indexes.
However, civic-engagement advocates are not giving up. To improve Indiana’s voter participation rank, they are shifting their focus to registering high school juniors and seniors who will be 18 – and eligible to vote – by the Nov. 5, 2024, election.
“The most important age cohort to reach out to quickly are the newest eligible voters. There are young people in Indiana who are 18 to 21. This will be their first opportunity to vote in a presidential election,” Moreau said. “We need to figure out a way to reach out to them, connect with them and get them registered and bring them into the civic life of our state and then let the parties, the candidates compete for their votes.”
Retired Indiana Supreme Court Justice Steven David used his keynote speech to encourage the attendees to continue their work promoting civic education and civic engagement. During his address, he mixed lessons he learned from decades in the courtroom, personal anecdotes, and stories from the nation’s founding, as he told the audience they could inspire more Hoosiers to get involved in their communities and to vote.
The Civic Health Index, David said, was a “snapshot of yesterday.” He said the index provided a reality check, but instead of being frightened, Hoosiers should embrace it – with the understanding the report is looking backward.
“It doesn’t account for today and it, certainly, doesn’t account for tomorrow and that’s why you’re all here,” David said.
Underscoring that the work is hard, David pointed to Pew Research Center Study, which found just 37% of eligible American voters voted in the past three national general elections.
Every generation must hand the baton to the next generation, David said. His generation, he noted, is getting tired, but the generation to whom they are passing the baton does not seem to be paying attention. Then he assured the attendees that they could make the future better.
“The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all,” David said. “We talked about that apathy, ignorance, futility. Whatever the thought process, whatever the reason, people aren’t engaged. We need to help change that.”
Before the summit ended, the Bar Foundation gave the audience members a virtual tool they could use to improve Indiana’s civic health. The audience was told to scan a QR code to access the new voter registration toolkit, which included links to the Indiana Secretary of State’s online voting resources, list of important dates for the November 2024 election, and images and suggestions for promoting voting on social media.
Charles Dunlap, president and CEO of the Indiana Bar Foundation, said the tools were meant to be used by all Hoosiers.
“This is not the Bar Foundation’s issue,” Dunlap said. “This is, I think, everybody’s issue about trying to encourage youth registration. We would love for you to take ownership of some of that, to the extent that it’s within your field and your interests. Use the other tools in the toolkit to help amplify that message and generate that interest.”
David concluded his remarks by offering a motivational tool he had crafted. He said he writes creeds and mottos to stay focused on the work he has to do.
For the summit, David shared his creed with the audience:
“I am an American citizen. I live in the greatest country on Earth. I have a duty to do everything I can to make our country better. I have a duty to be an informed and engaged voter. I have a duty to engage in productive civil discourse. I understand that our freedom, our way of life is precious. There are no guarantees. I cannot take anything for granted. I pledge to do everything I can to promote voter registration in order to create an informed, educated and engaged population. I pledge to support efforts to enhance and expand citizen education and civics partnerships. I cannot take my mission too seriously. My country’s survival depends on me and others like me. I have a duty to be an engaged and informed citizen. I have a duty to do everything I can to make our country better. I live in the greatest country on Earth. I am an American citizen.”
Dwight Adams, a freelance editor and writer based in Indianapolis, edited this article. He is a former content editor, copy editor and digital producer at The Indianapolis Star and IndyStar.com, and worked as a planner for other newspapers, including the Louisville Courier Journal.
The Indiana Citizen is a nonpartisan, nonprofit platform dedicated to increasing the number of informed and engaged Hoosier citizens. We are operated by the Indiana Citizen Education Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) public charity. For questions about the story, contact Marilyn Odendahl at marilyn.odendahl@indianacitizen.org
