More than 60,000 young voters will be eligible to vote for the first time in this fall’s election — thanks to an N.C. law that requires voter registration drives at high schools in the state.
The law mandates that the state board of elections holds voter registration drives at public high schools statewide to enable 16 and 17 year olds to preregister.
Since the law was implemented in January 2010, 107,422 in that age group have registered to vote in the state through August 2012, and 63,085 of them are eligible to cast their ballots this fall.
Bob Hall, executive director of Democracy N.C., a nonpartisan electoral reform organization based in Durham, said legislators intended for the law, which passed with bipartisan support, to reverse a history of low voter participation and develop lifelong voting habits.
Hall said Democracy N.C. was the “chief advocate” for the legislation by gaining endorsements, researching legislation in other states and lobbying for its passage. He said the drives have been a success and have positively affected students.
“Many students find it empowering to vote. It also makes real the classroom discussion of citizenship,” Hall said.
North Carolina is the only state that requires election officials to hold annual registration drives at high schools, even though five other states also allow students to preregister as young as 16.
According to a Democracy N.C. analysis, the breakdown of which party students register with is about even.
Thirty percent have registered with the Republican Party, 29 percent with the Democrat Party, 1 percent with the Libertarian Party and 40 percent as unaffiliated.
