Uniting for youth and democracy, The Civics Center convenes more than 70 nonprofits to promote High School Voter Registration Week.
Approximately one million high school students will be old enough to vote in November if they are registered. Millions more live in states where they can preregister to vote as soon as they turn 16 or 17, providing additional opportunities for youth engagement. Virtually all Americans become eligible to register or preregister while they are still in high school. Yet most schools have no programs, curriculum, training, or events to actually help their students take this important step.
In Florida, with Midterms just five months away, the biggest obstacle to youth voter turnout is low levels of voter registration among youngest eligible voters.
As of May 16, 2022, in Miami-Dade County, approximately 25% of 18-year-olds are registered to vote. In Broward County, roughly 30% of 18-year-olds are registered to vote. Miami-Dade and Broward Counties are the most populous counties in Florida, and immediate action is required to make sure young people are registered to vote ahead of the Midterms.
With five months before Election Day, more than 1.5 million Americans will be turning 18 before Election Day.
Election Day is only five months away, and 1.5 million youth across the country are turning 18 before November 8, 2022. Virtually all of these young people are eligible to register to vote today, and then they can vote in the midterms in November.
Graduation Season Calendar: Where and When to Get the Class of 2022 Ready to Vote.
We created a resource to help community groups, parents, and volunteers focus their efforts on specific school districts. Our School District Graduation Calendar lists the graduation season dates for the most populous districts in each state. This is a great starting point for encouraging students and educators to plan registration drives at their schools in connection with graduation.
In Ohio, where youth could decide the US Senate race, fewer than 25% of 18-year-olds in the state’s largest counties are registered to vote
In Ohio’s two most populous counties, Franklin and Cuyahoga, under 25% of 18-year-olds are registered to vote. The deadline to register to vote in time for the upcoming May 3 election is April 4, 2022. There is an immediate need to help high school seniors register before they graduate this spring.
The High School Voter Registration Recruitment Bandwagon [Voices of Democracy series]
You know those pesky adages like: “Assume Good Will” and “Don’t Take it Personally”. Well, dust them off as you recruit high schools to jump on the youth voter registration bandwagon.
New York expanded voter preregistration to age 16. A year later, and with a Mayoral election on the horizon, most people haven’t noticed.
Only 61,567 of the state’s 16- and 17-year-olds were preregistered to vote as of April 2021. That represents just 13% of the approximately 484,317 youth in that age demographic.
The Pandemic Led to a Steep Decline in California’s Preregistration Rates: Our Systems Should Evolve to Meet the Moment
The California Secretary of State recently published the state’s most recent youth voter preregistration statistics from February 10, 2021. This report has illuminated a troubling trend for youth engagement and preregistration.
Voter Registration During a Pandemic: West Valley City, Utah [Voices of Democracy series]
During the week of our drive, I ended up coming down with COVID. Cases nationwide were spiking for what seemed like the millionth time this year. Our voter registration drive pulled through, and we got a lot of seniors registered to vote.
New voter registrations soar in Fulton County, Georgia
In Fulton County, Georgia, 9,769 new voters registered to vote between Election Day on November 3, 2020 and the December 7 cutoff to vote in the U.S. Senate runoff on January 5. This is according to documents The Civics Center has obtained from Fulton County officials.
Georgia survey says: high school students need help registering to vote
With two Georgia runoff races for U.S. Senate just seven weeks away, and with the voter registration deadline just three weeks away, we reached out to college students around Georgia to learn how much they know about the laws governing voter registration and the runoff in their state.
Bloomington in Action
Before their collaboration on a digital voter registration drive, Lucia Walker and Celina German never knew they lived in the same neighborhood, let alone the same town. Lucia, a rising senior at Bloomington High School South in Bloomington, Indiana, and Celina, a rising senior at Kenyon College and a BHSS alumna, are both interested in civic engagement.
What you can do
A note from a high school student asked what he could do to improve high school voter registration rates in his hometown. It got me thinking about creating a list of easy-to-use resources laying out what students can do on a personal level and in their schools to make a difference.
California's latest preregistration numbers: On the rise, but still very low.
California’s voter preregistration numbers are out. They are on the rise, but we still have a long way to go. Read our commentary in Cal Matters, and check out our county-by-county breakdown, below.
Pop Quiz Number 2: High School Voter Registration 101
I know most high schools don’t teach how and when to register to vote. That is no excuse. You still have to take the quiz. When you’re done, calculate your score using the answers below. If you didn’t get 100%, don’t blame yourself. Like I said, most schools don’t teach this stuff.
Introducing the 1,000 Schools Challenge and Ready to Vote Coalition
I’m thrilled to introduce The Civics Center’s 1,000 Schools Challenge, undertaken with the newly formed Ready to Vote Coalition. The goal of the Challenge is to support youth-led voter registration efforts in 1,000 schools around the country. The Ready to Vote Coalition includes national, state and local groups, listed below, who recognize and value the goal of improving civic engagement in high school.
This is not a mock election
Today, as we recognize the great civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., our general election on November 3, 2020 is less than 300 days away. A friend asked recently whether young people will turn out to vote. My answer has become routine: the most common reason young people give for not voting is that they are not registered.
Our beautiful yellow map
There are many different kinds of maps. Some show the present, like where the roads and rivers are. Some show past events, like the red / blue maps of an election night, proclaiming the count of votes already cast. There are other maps that show the future. They tell us about opportunity instead of objects or outcomes.
Will the Class of 2020 Vote Next November? California’s Governor Just Vetoed Legislation That Would Have Made it More Likely.
Almost every member of the Class of 2020 in California high schools will be old enough to vote next November. But will they be registered? Governor Gavin Newsom just vetoed AB 773, which would have required public high schools to give students the opportunity to register or pre-register to vote and to teach students about the voting process.
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.