Make Graduation Season Voter Registration Season, too
When students register in high school, along with hundreds of their classmates, they are part of a cohort and they see themselves as voters.
Four million Americans graduate from high school every Spring, and virtually all of them are old enough to register to vote before they step into their futures. Graduation is an especially critical opportunity for the 40% of seniors who will not go to college, where many assume voter registration will occur. High school voter registration is the most equitable, high-impact, and realistic path we have to universal voter registration and, from there, universal voting.
That’s why we created Cap, Gown & Ballot. The name tells it all: when you achieve the milestone of donning your cap and gown, you’re also ready to take on your newly acquired status as a voting member of America’s democracy. Senior spring is a time for celebration, accolades, and reflection on lessons learned and what lies ahead; at The Civics Center, we believe that ought to include the message that voting matters, young people’s voices are essential, and we welcome their full participation in our democracy.
That’s why voter registration should be built into senior spring events, every year, at every high school in America.
Even though there is no federal law requiring high school voter registration, and state laws are routinely ignored, high school communities have the power to take matters into their own hands. Student-led, adult-supported voter registration drives can be built into the fabric of high school life starting right now.
Here are some examples of what’s already underway:
At The Civics Center, we train students and educators in how to hold voter registration drives in their schools. To date, we have trained more students and educators in 2024 than we did in all of 2023.
More students have registered their drives with us than in all of 2023.
Student groups holding drives at large high schools are reporting hundreds of registrations in a single, well-organized push.
Educators from across the country have attended our training and now know how to support their students with organizing drives.
Students who had never been taught that registration is a requirement have recruited volunteers and held successful drives.
Adult volunteers ask me all the time: What can I do to help?
If you haven’t already guessed my answer, here it is: tell students and educators in your life about Cap, Gown & Ballot – the campaign to make voter registration part of end-of-year activities. Here’s a toolkit with everything you’ll need to have those conversations. Recruit students and educators to participate by signing up for a workshop or drop-in session to learn how to host a voter registration drive in their schools. Make sure the schools you attended as a teen or sent your children to are gearing up now.
When you change the culture in the school, the impact is enormous. Once schools have participated the first time, their next voter registration drive is that much easier. Make it into a student activity just like sports, clubs, or the school newspaper, so that every student is registered before they move on, regardless of election cycle.
That’s what Cap, Gown & Ballot is about.