4,000 Youth Registrations during High School Voter Registration Week
The first-ever nationwide High School Voter Registration Week was a big success! The week of action improved low youth voter registration rates by encouraging and supporting students to register and pre-register eligible 16, 17, and 18 year-olds to vote.
The Civics Center helped build a coalition of 31 local, statewide, and national nonprofit organizations* to support this initiative. These groups engaged their networks of high school students and teachers around the country and created a natural home for planning efforts within the existing structure of a school club.
Over the course of two months, The Civics Center held more than 30 online and in-person info sessions geared toward teaching students, teachers, and community organizers how to successfully plan high school voter registration events. As a result, 60 high schools, spanning 25 states, held events for High School Voter Registration Week. Participating schools received supplies in Democracy in a Box--including clipboards, pens, stickers, and candy--mailed to a designated faculty sponsor.
Approximately 4,000 students registered to vote as a result of this student-led week of action!
Many students who took part in High School Voter Registration Week came away inspired to hold future events this school year. One student in Maryland said, “HSVR Week was an amazing event that my club and school will definitely replicate later this school year!” A student in Virginia commented, “After the drive I saw a lot of people wearing [the stickers and pins] (including some of my teachers) which made me happy, and was able to spread the message.”
We are thrilled with the response to this week of action from students, teachers, and nonprofit leaders.
Schools in 25 states held high school voter registration events.
*The High School Voter Registration Week coalition included: American Constitution Society, Alliance Center for Independence, Bites Media, C70, Chi-Town GVP Summit, Civic Spirit, Common Cause PA, C5 Los Angeles, DoSomething.org, Every Vote Counts, Future Coalition, Generation Citizen, Generation Nation, Generation Progress, Georgia Center for Civic Engagement, Girls Learn International, Issue Voter, League of Women Voters Pennsylvania, League of Women Voters St. Paul, Lemonade Warriors, March For Our Lives, Maryland Votes Together, National Voter Registration Day, Next Up, VoteRiders, VotoLatino, WAVE, YMCA, Youth Activism Project, Youth Brain Trust, and YVote.