Abstract
In the 20 years since the 2000 presidential election, there has been a push toward more active engagement by election administrators in educating and reaching out to eligible voters. To date, however, there is not a systematic understanding of what the voter education statutes and policies that guide local election administrators look like across American states. Examining state-submitted voter education plans mandated by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 and state election statutes on voter education and outreach, this paper describes the variation in state guidance and mandates for voter education in the United States. This research is an important first step toward understanding how the laws that structure voter education and outreach ultimately shape voter engagement in American elections.