Push to register teens to vote increases in schools nationwide

A push across the country to get teens registered to vote is alive and well with the presidential election just over a month away. However, some parents are angry about the way this is being done, including a mom whose daughter attends Briar Woods High School in Ashburn.

In that instance, she said her daughter was given a voter registration form from a teacher and told to complete it and turn it back into the teacher. It was not a voluntary choice, according to the mom who took to social media to question this practice. See related story here.

"When my daughter said she wanted to bring the form home first and show her parents, she was told she must bring it back completed the next day." The mother refused to allow her child, who is 16, to complete the form, which asked for the student's social security number among other personal identifying information.

Parents of the school also said they were not notified that voter registration drives would take place. Loudoun County School Superintendent Dr. Aaron Spence approved them to be held in high schools.

"As this has been a longstanding, voluntary process for eligible students, parental notification has not been historically part of the process. To date, the League of Women Voters has only been at Briar Woods. As a reminder, information about voting events was in the weekly newsletter and was sent to all families and staff," said Natalie Allen, Loudoun County Public Schools spokeswoman.

"The League of Women Voters has been a partner of many school divisions across Virginia for years. They are registrars who are trained and sign affidavits just like any other entity that collects voter registration forms. It is our understanding that only properly credentialed registrars have been involved in the voter registration events that have taken place at LCPS high schools, and that such events have been conducted in an organized fashion. For instance, the League of Women Voters registrars were seated at a table outside of the cafeteria, and students could approach that table at their discretion. We have no evidence that any registrars or other adults actively approached students at any time to encourage the completion of voter registration forms," Allen added.

After the issue was brought to the attention of School Board member Kari Labell (Catoctin District) and Superintendent Spence, the Loudoun County School Board then discussed it at its next board meeting held Sept. 24. At that meeting it was clarified that moving forward voting registration groups, such as the League of Women Voters, will direct interested students to complete voter registration forms through a QR Code or by offering a hard copy version of the forms, along with an addressed, stamped envelope, for students to submit through the mail themselves.

Virginia is one of 22 states in the country that allows students to pre-register to vote as young as 16. In Fairfax County Public Schools, Marshall High School students are actually lobbying Congress to pass legislation they helped draft designating high schools as voter registration agencies.

Samad Quraishi, a junior at Marshall now serving as the Centre for Voters Initiative & Action's executive director, says the effort is necessary because studies show only half of eligible youth voted in the 2020 election. A group of Marshall juniors have met with more than 250 congressmen, as well as the White House’s counsel to the vice president about their legislation, which is sponsored by Congresswoman Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) and Senator Laphonza Butler (D-Calif). The High School Voter Empowerment Act of 2024, introduced in Congress in April, can be read here.

"Four million Americans turn 18 every year, but we estimate fewer than 30% are registered to vote. Barriers to registration are the number one obstacle to youth voter turnout," The Civics Center in Los Angeles said. The Center provides information on how to set up and run a registration drive at a school, educator training and shareable resource materials for distribution all in an effort to get more youth registered to vote.

Other states

Recently, a Pittsburgh mom was upset after learning her daughter was registered to vote while in school. The mom claimed her 17-year-old was pulled out of class at Perry High School and encouraged to register as a Democrat, though the family are Trump supporters.

“Not only was she told how to register, she was told who she should vote for,” she said in the video which now has more than 200,000 views. The mom also said the staff member at the school spoke negatively about former President Trump.

In Utah, two students at Park City High School are trying to get voter pre-registration into their U.S. Government course, a mandatory course for graduation.

While their proposal wouldn’t require any students to register to vote, they explained the process only takes about five minutes and they believe spreading awareness about the opportunity can significantly increase the amount of young voters in Utah.

“We’d love to see pre-voter registration eventually become part of the statewide curriculum, which could result in Utah having one of the highest turnouts of young voters,” student Madeline McHenry said.