The Importance of High Schools
Educators, we need you! Your high school students need your support to ensure they are registered to vote before they graduate.
Public schools have a responsibility to prepare young people to engage in our democracy
Young people care about their communities and the health of the world, but only 6% of them are asked to register in high school. Preregistration was developed as a way to give new voters more time. It’s up to high schools to use those years before voting to welcome them and instill a lifelong interest in voting and good citizenship.
This is an issue of equity: 40% of youth don’t attend college
College voter registration programs, which are greatly needed, are not designed to reach high school students, who are involved in different educational organizations and are at a different time of life. Importantly, if we rely only on outreach to college campuses, we’re missing the 40% of youth who do not go on to college. Once those Americans graduate and join the workforce, they become harder to find and thus more difficult to register. Building this system at the front end is what will help it succeed, as new voters are a renewable resource.
High Schools Have the Infrastructure
Teens spend every day in high school, among trusted adults who can provide needed information and support. Students spend these years thinking about who they would like to become, and voting (like driving or getting a job) is a milestone reached on the journey toward adulthood.
We are building voter registration drives into the infrastructure of the high school experience. While online voter registration efforts are an important tool for youth registration, we believe working inside of schools is the most effective method to creating structural change. Registration and civic engagement are highly influenced by social environment and group affinity.
We believe running voter registration drives brings young people opportunities:
Personal and career development
Unique experience for their resume and college applications
Confidence building
New and transferable skills including event management, public speaking, writing, leadership, communication, teamwork and more
Empowerment to young people in a fun way, supporting them to become responsible members of society and their communities