In early 2024, New Voices conducted a voter apathy study to understand why Black folx, young people, and historically marginalized communities feel disconnected from the electoral process. Rather than simply asking how to get people to vote, we asked a deeper question: why doesn’t voting always feel worth it in the first place?

Our findings revealed that voter apathy is not rooted in indifference, but in distrust and disillusionment. Many participants shared that they feel ignored by political leaders, that promises go unfulfilled, and that voting has not translated into meaningful change in their daily lives. Despite this, the majority still intend to vote, though often without confidence in the system.

Key themes included:

- Disillusionment with leadership: Many see politics as unresponsive to community needs.

- Disconnect between issues and voting: Voters want clear links between policies and their lived experiences, such as maternal health, economic justice, and safety.

- Desire for year-round engagement: Communities want consistent, relational organizing. Not just election-time outreach.

We conducted this study because traditional voter engagement strategies often fail to speak to the realities of Black communities. By using a Reproductive Justice framework, we connect civic participation to deeply personal issues like health, safety, and autonomy. Showing that voting is part of a larger strategy for building community power.

This work is important to us because voter apathy is often misunderstood. It is not that people don’t care, but that they demand accountability, transparency, and long-term investment. Addressing voter suppression and apathy requires moving beyond turnout and building sustainable pathways for trust, education, and shared power alongside the people who need it the most.

Gerrymandering: Manipulating district boundaries to dilute the power of certain communities and weaken their political influence.

Voter Caging: The practice of sending mail to registered voters and challenging their eligibility to vote if the mail is returned as undeliverable.

Voter Purging: The practice of removing names from the voter rolls, or the list of registered voters.

Voter ID Laws: Strict identification requirements that can exclude people without driver’s licenses, passports, or costly documents. For example, Ohio House Bill 458 introduces stricter voting requirements, stating that in-person voters must present a valid government-issued photo ID to cast their ballots. Additionally, the bill limits absentee and early voting options by reducing the number of ballot drop boxes to just one per county and shortening the timelines for both requesting and returning mail-in ballots.

Polling Place Closures & Relocations: Shutting down or moving polling sites. Most often in Black and Brown neighborhoods. For example, the move of the county board of elections from East 30th and Euclid Ave to 1803 Superior Ave.