The real way to get teenagers voting

Last week, Mayor de Blasio announced a voter registration program in city high schools aiming to register 50,000 seniors this coming year. While surely a step in the right direction, it will be no easy task, owing to the systemic barriers which have historically prevented my peers from both registering and voting.

A crucial part of the mayor’s plan hinges on the implementation of civics education in public schools, a much needed addition to the curriculum. At my high school, students can discuss religious syncretism at great length, carry on conversations regarding postmodern literature and compare neoliberal and Keynesian economic theories — but when it comes to state and local government, they are at a loss for words.

Only the rare student can properly identify the two branches of the state Legislature, let alone name his or her representatives. The City Council is equally a stretch. Taking classes on “environmental politics” and the “history of protest,” and participating in citywide walkouts, students are passionate about social issues, but they typically fail to bring this passion to the polls come election day.

My high school is not unique. In the 2014 midterm elections, only 12% of 18-24 year olds in New York State cast ballots, and even in the 2016 Presidential election fewer than 40% in this age group voted. (Nationwide, the rate was higher, but still low, at 50%.) For poor young people or persons of color, voter turnout is even lower.

These numbers shed light on a troubling reality: We are raising a generation of civically disengaged youth.

Lackluster civic education in public schools is not the sole cause of the city’s young voter problem. Despite rules mandating that voter registration forms be available in every public high school, schools do little with them, and many seniors remain unaware that, as 17-year-olds turning 18 in an election year, they are now eligible to register for the 2018 election cycle.

Antiquated registration procedures also make it hard for students to register. While anyone with a state-issued ID can register online through the DMV, city students often do not have driver’s licenses, forcing them to take on the surprisingly arduous process of printing out and mailing in registration forms.

Even if students, accustomed to doing almost everything online, do have access to printers and stamps, finding and filling out a registration form remains challenging. Deadlines are also prohibitively early; students would need to mail in their registration forms by June 1 in order to vote in the June 26 federal primary, a time in a senior’s life marked by final exams and graduation-induced life transitions.

The deadline for the critical state primary is Aug. 17, during the dog days of summer, when many seniors are preparing for college or looking for jobs. These obstacles are significant, even for highly motivated students. As a result, many seniors graduate without the ability to translate their socialjustice fervor into votes.

Until now, efforts to combat the city’s critically low student voter registration and turnout have not gained much momentum. Bills establishing automatic voter registration, early voting and extending registration deadlines still languish in committee in the Republican-controlled state Senate. Even the city’s new law allowing online registration does not take effect until mid-2019.

Student Voter Registration Day, another promising initiative started in 2015 to promote youth registration, reached only 11.3% of the city’s 75,000 high school seniors last year.

The mayor’s unprecedented endeavor to register 50,000 student voters is far more ambitious and could have real impact on the 2018 elections. A new bloc of young voters passionate about issues such as public school funding, college affordability, reproductive rights, immigrant rights and environmental protection could force elected officials to take our concerns seriously.

We must hold the mayor to his promise and continue to push towards registering every eligible student in every school. And in the meantime, we must start teaching civics. This may never be more important to my generation, and to our country, than it is now.