Is Arizona in a voting crisis?

KTAR News reported that according to a study by Morrison Institute for Public Policy at Arizona State University, Voter participation is eroding across the U.S. and the situation in Arizona is a crisis.

The poor, minorities and young adults who would benefit the most by voting are the very groups that participate the least in the process, the study said, recommending engagement be fostered through education.

Local leaders in justice and politics agreed that the situation in Arizona is bad and needs to be addressed, but several noted that the trend toward lower turnout is a historical problem consistent from generation to generation.

Arizona ranks 43rd in the nation in voter turnout, and younger and poorer voters continue to not exercise their right to vote, according to the study, released at a press conference Tuesday by the Arizona Clean Elections Commission and Morrison Institute.

“Those with low levels of education, ethnic minorities and young adults are woefully underrepresented at the ballot box.” said David Daugherty, a senior research fellow at Morrison Institute and co-author of the report.

He points to a particular demographic that’s of the most concern: Millennials. Born from the early 1980s to the mid- to late-’90s, millennials represent one-third the population in Arizona but represent just 25 percent of the registered voters in the state, and only 20 percent actually cast votes, according to the study.

READ: Arizona ranks among bottom half of states for voter turnout, study finds