Submitted by ReCenter Indiana
Between now and Election Day, young Hoosiers will be seeing something new on their screens: video ads that show fellow young adults going to vote – and sharing the experience with a companion.
The six-week advertising campaign was launched on Tuesday, Sept. 22, by the nonpartisan, nonprofit group ReCenter Indiana. It’s directed specifically at residents of Marion, Hamilton, and Boone counties between the ages of 18 and 24.
The videos were recorded in Lawrence, Carmel, and Zionsville during the Indiana primary election last May. Outside their respective polling places, the young adult voters are shown sharing their personal feelings about the voting process and what the experience means to them.
The campaign will run through Election Day, Nov. 3, on YouTube, Instagram, and connected TV services including Netflix, HBO, and Peacock. The video ads are projected to generate more than 1.5 million impressions. A $50,000 grant from Glick Fund made the campaign possible.
ReCenter Indiana has made young adult voters a special focus of its work to strengthen civic engagement and voter participation. In the most recent general election, in 2024, only 39 percent of Hoosier young adults voted, according to Tufts CIRCLE 2024 youth voting report. That compares to the national young adult turnout rate of 47 percent.
For eligible voters of all ages, Indiana is perennially among the states with the lowest turnouts.
Vare
“Instead of actors reading scripts, our videos feature authentic, young Hoosier voters saying in their own words why they’re enthusiastic about voting,” ReCenter Indiana Executive Director Jocelyn Vare said. “And, importantly, these voting experiences are built around the invitation, ‘Hey, can I vote with you?’”
Research supports this peer-to-peer approach. In the Turnout Nation 2019 study, registered voters steadily encouraged by someone they knew were 13.2 percentage points more likely to actually cast a ballot. In two decades of studies, researchers reported, this approach proved more effective than any other.
The ReCenter Indiana ads show young adult voters before and immediately after they cast their ballots. They describe their voting experience as easy, meaningful, and empowering – from the importance of choosing to participate in democracy to receiving an “I Voted” sticker. The videos do not mention candidates or political parties.
Young adults in the three target counties will see ads specific to their respective counties. Three 30-second videos per county refer viewers to a county-specific ReCenter Indiana webpage with practical information about voter registration, identification requirements, early voting, Election Day voting, wait times, and the Election Protection Hotline.
ReCenter Indiana is asking Hoosiers to share the videos with young adults and then ask, “Hey, can I vote with you?” An invitation from a friend, relative, classmate or co-worker can make voting feel more comfortable, especially for a first-time voter.
All nine videos are available for viewing and download now on ReCenter Indiana’s YouTube playlist.
ReCenter Indiana developed the ad campaign in response to its 2025 Young Adult Non-Voter Research Study. The Nicholas H. Noyes Jr. Memorial Foundation funded the nonpartisan study, which Bellwether Research and Hart Research conducted jointly.
The study included a focus group plus a survey of 307 residents of Marion, Hamilton, and Boone counties. All were between the ages 18 and 34. All of them were registered to vote in the 2024 general election, but none of them did.
The findings showed that young adult nonvoters are not apathetic. They care about their communities. But they often feel that government does not listen to them or that their votes do not influence election outcomes.
Nearly half of the young Hoosiers surveyed, 45 percent, said they had never voted. Those who had never voted were more likely than other young adults to say that they distrusted the electoral process or that they lacked information about candidates and issues.
The study participants also said practical barriers kept them from casting ballots. Those factors included:
- Work,
- Limited voting hours,
- Long lines at polling places, and
- Missed deadlines.
Slash Tucker
“Young adults matter, and their voices belong in every election,” ReCenter Indiana Vice President Adrianne Slash Tucker said. “Our research helped us understand the obstacles young Indiana voters face. We designed this campaign to build confidence in the voting process and remind young Hoosiers that their votes matter.”
The ReCenter Indiana ad campaign is in a shareable format, designed to carry its message beyond paid advertising. Every viewer can participate by sending a video to someone they know and asking one question: “Hey, can I vote with you?”
Young adults can access information and make their voting plans according to where they live:
Key dates for the 2026 general election:
- Indiana’s voter registration deadline is Oct. 5.
- Early voting begins Oct. 6.
- Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.
About ReCenter Indiana
ReCenter Indiana Inc. is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to reminding all elected officials to recenter on the priorities of the people. ReCenter Indiana informs and encourages Hoosiers to vote and have a voice in their community. Learn more at ReCenterIndiana.org.
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