Four million Americans will turn 18 this year. Why aren’t we registering them to vote? | Laura W Brill

Less than a third are likely to be registered in November. We must work to ensure they have a voice

About 4 million Americans will turn 18 in 2026, but if past trends continue, under a third of them will be registered to vote in the November elections. Automatically registering every American when they come of age would be the fairest, most effective way to protect US democracy, yet we have built an electoral system that does the opposite.

Every year, millions of 18-year-old Americans go unregistered and excluded from the electoral process. In a typical midterm year, US census data shows fewer than 30% are registered to vote, compared with nearly 75% of those aged 45 and up. Because they are outside of state voter files, candidates, campaigns and pollsters ignore them. Their voices and energy go untapped; their policy and programmatic needs go unfunded.