Youth vote

Enshrined in the Texas Election Code is a unique provision that requires all high school principals in Texas to serve as deputy voter registrars in their schools. In this capacity, the principals are expected to distribute voter registration applications to those students who will be 18 years old by Election Day.

However, of the estimated 1,434 public high school principals in Texas, fewer than 200 requested voter registration applications before the 2016 elections. That means that only 14 percent of our public high schools took advantage of this important opportunity to help register their students.

Texas students deserve better, and I want to work with principals to improve upon the past.

As chief elections officer for the state of Texas, I am issuing a call to action to all Texans to encourage high school principals in our state to get involved.

My office will commit to providing all principals an effective and efficient digital mechanism for requesting voter registration applications. I am making voter registration of eligible high school students a top priority and ensuring that our state’s high school principals have all the tools they need to make this voter registration effort a resounding success.

Principals may order voter registration applications from our office online at any time at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/hsvoterregistrationorderform

Principals may print a copy of the notice form at: http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/forms/notice-to-highschool-students.pdf

Please join me in striving to achieve a 100 percent participation rate among Texas high school principals — our future and the future of Texas depends on it. Rolando Pablos, Secretary of State